The Sega Saga: Book 1
by nomsayin13
Summary: The first chapter of the Sega Saga. Join us as we introduce new and old characters alike, and discover why Samantha the Hedgehog- Sonic's old childhood friend- is a target of a powerful enemy from another dimension... I don't own any of the Sonic characters from the anime Sonic X to the Sonic games. I only own Sam and Flower. AU universe.
1. Guess who?

_One day..._

A lioness awoke from her sleep, stretching her mouth as far as her jaw would allow and pawing the sleep out of her eyes. She glanced at the surroundings – and wherever she was, it was definitely not the jungle. She was in some kind of cage, having been positioned close to the bars. Walking around outside were humans of all ages, most of them blissfully unaware of her condition.

She looked more curiously and widely through the bars to observe more of her surroundings. She wasn't alone here – the presence of numerous other animal cages clued her into the fact that this was a zoo. Balloons, banners, and machines distributing popcorn and cotton candy speckled the aisles in between her fellow prisoners. A car drove by, glossy and rounded like a toy but carrying several people, mostly adults, from whose eyes the wonder of childhood had long since left.

There was a long, sustained roar about the place, but it was not hers. Permeating through the very air were laughs, shrieks, and other contemptible noises from the humans' mouths, and the more aware she became of her surroundings, the more grating the noise got.

The lioness laid her head down and placed her paws over her ears – sight would do just fine. And she was greeted by a new sight just then: an elderly man sauntered straight up to her cage and turned his back to her.

"Folks," the man hollered to his audience, his bullhorn squealing over his voice. The lioness frowned and plugged her ears up tighter. "I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our jolly old family here. This one's an exotic beauty – we brought her over the other day from White Jungle."

_This really is a zoo_, grumbled the lioness internally. _Wonderful._

"Who wants to guess what kind of animal she is?" the man shouted. "I'll give you a couple of hints. She looooves to do two things: eat meat, and LOTS of it… and sleep!"

A small boy hopped to his feet and waved his arms back and forth. "Ooooooh! Me me me!"

The man pointed to him and smiled. "Yes?"

"A saber-tooth tiger!" An uproar of laughter greeted the incorrect guess.

"Not... quite, son, but good try," the man said. He scanned the crowd, and his finger pointed to another child, this time a girl. "Yes?"

"A lion...?" she said shyly.

"Corrrrrreect!" the man bellowed, backing away from the cage to reveal his latest acquisition to the audience. Applause screeched into her ear drums.

_Why me?_ she thought. _This is degrading. It doesn't suit me, it simply doesn't. If I could just find the slightest opening to sneak through and rid myself of these confines, I'd just..._

"Give her some space, folks! It was a loooooong trip for her to come here." He shot her a quick, apologetic glance; she rolled her eyes at the thought of that being anywhere near enough consolation. Finally, everyone did back away, providing her the peace of mind to shut her eyes once more.

She woke with a start, the grogginess in her head suggesting she hadn't been out longer than a few minutes. There was a noise about, a different one: someone was grinding what sounded like two metallic objects against the pavement close to her cage. She growled inhospitably, looking up to see what in the world could be making such a deafening clatter. She was greeted by a small, black-furred fox.

The lioness sat up to get a better look at this girl. The fox was only a child, perhaps seven or eight years old, and she wore a white tank top with navy blue and pink sneakers. She also had two tails that looked it as though they've been recently robotized. The fox starred at the lion with big brown eyes. "Hello," she said shyly, waving her white-gloved hand.

In response, the lioness stood up on her own hind legs, raised her left paw, and roared out hello – or tried to; it came out about as close as a hello could sound. The fox's eyes widened in amazement, and the lioness smirked to herself. The fox smiled widely. "Wow… can you talk?" she whispered.

The lioness nodded, roaring out her best affectation of a "yeah". The fox gasped. "You can understand me?" she gaped, her whisper louder.

Again, the lioness nodded, silently but more enthusiastically, and the fox jumped in excitement. "S-she can understand me! I can't believe it!" she repeated, the words coming out as a very audible shriek.

A few people in the crowd turned their heads. Startled, the fox rocked back and forth on her feet, thinking frantically of a solution. "Um... yes! This is a fun game!" she shouted, demonstratively angling her body toward the lioness. "Hello, friend! I am having a mighty good time pretending that we can understand each other!"

The onlookers rolled their eyes, frowned, and continued to explore the zoo. "Uheheh…" the fox whispered apologetically. "Guess some friendships aren't meant for the world to know about, huh?"

The lioness froze and looked over the fox's shoulder. Her eyes widened again, and she turned to see what was behind her: it was a large, gray-feathered albatross. The albatross wore black sneakers with white and yellow stripe across them, tan gloves with large cuffs at the end of them, and small goggles on top of his head. All in all, he was quite a hulking figure – which would make him an intimidating if it weren't for the fact that he was looking at the small girl with concern.

"Uh… you okay, lil' girl?" he asked.

The fox jumped in place, startled, but nodded timidly when she realized he was only being friendly. Still, he was awfully big.  
He didn't notice or care. "What's your name, sweetheart?" he said.

"Flower," she replied quietly.

"Hey, Flower, my name's Storm, Storm the Albatross. I saw you talking with that lioness behind ya – guess you didn't hide it quite well enough! Are you guys friends or something?" Storm glanced toward the creature, and she growled at him; he lowered his head in disappointment. "She doesn't seem to like me much."

"Maybe not," Flower told him, unsure of what she herself thought of the bird. "But maybe you can ask her… because you heard right. She can talk."

Storm burst out laughing, but his belly laughs slowed to a halt when he saw that the look Flower gave him was very much not the kind that one makes after cracking a joke.

"You're serious..." he exhaled, momentarily looking over at the lioness.

"Yeah," Flower continued, "and the lioness can understand you when you talk, too!" She pointed toward the cage. "Go on, try talking to her," she urged him.

Storm heaved a sigh, and a few seconds later, Storm found himself up at the lioness's cage, only a few feet from her animalistic features. Storm could not believe he was doing this, but he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Lioness," he began. "What..." He tried to come up with a question, but he could not. His mind was too focused on the embarrassment of talking to an animal, a real animal whose mind wasn't adjusted to conversing with other humans – or albatrosses, for that matter.

"I'm waiting." The words slipped from the lioness's irritated mouth, gruff and difficult to make out but very clearly real words.

Storm shook his head, then stared at the lioness in bewilderment. His mouth couldn't form words or even unintelligible sounds. Storm practically tripped over his own feet as he scampered away without asking a thing, leaving the fox and lioness snickering.

Once they both calmed down, Flower and the lioness glanced meaningfully at each other. "I think you're pretty cool," Flower admitted. The lioness mustered a genuine smile.

Suddenly, a blue beam of light spat through the air, ripping the bars of the cage open to clear its path. Metal scattered, people screamed and ran, sparks flew, flames burst. Through the smoke, the lioness emerged free, but she was not safe yet: who in the world had fired the blast? Before Flower or the lioness could move, Storm reappeared before them, and he was accompanied by a purple swallow and a green hawk.

The swallow walked up to the lioness, apparently unafraid of what the lioness might do to her. Her blue eyes shimmered in arrogance.

"Don't touch her!" Flower yelled. "Who are you, anyway?!"

Without feeling the need to answer a single word, the swallow, reaching into her pocket, pulled out a tiny handheld device. The lioness got into defensive position, ready for any type of attack this creature could toss her way. The swallow grew closer and closer, every movement unpredictable – and not only to her; the hawk eyed the swallow as though she were crazy.

Storm grabbed Flower and gripped her as though in fear she would slip away, and Flower could only watch as the bird of prey descended upon them.

**Beep, beep, beep!**

Everyone jumped back a foot. The swallow, too, was startled, but regained her composure quickly and delivered a swift kick to the lioness's stomach. With an "oof", the lioness stumbled, and a large emerald popped out of her mouth.

The gem flew through the air, spinning once, twice, three times before the green hawk leaped into the air, the gem slammed against his hand. While in midair, the hawk squeezed the gem with his catcher's-mitt hand.

Storm sprang in the air, his arms far apart. "I got you, boossss!" His howl was cut short as the hawk crashed into his stomach, knocking him back a good few feet back, finally skidding to a stop at the exit of the zoo.

The swallow threw her arms in the air. "Honestly, you two!" she screamed. "Can't you actually do something right for one measly day! I swear, nothing ever gets done around here!"

"Well, Wave," the green hawk scoffed. "Maybe if you stopped nagging us and started helping us, we would've done something for a change!"

"Yeah," Storm joined in. "What the boss said!"

"Stop interrupting!" Wave bellowed, walking briskly toward her comrades. She gritted her teeth. "Knock it off!"

Flower took this as her cue to leave, so with the help of her two tails, she flew away, the bickering fading away with every passing minute. Pretty soon, the zoo had become a mere speck in the distance. Flower then noticed that the sun was setting; she had to get home soon. Off she went, but as soon as she set foot on the welcome home mat in front of the mansion she lived in, she remembered something awful.

_The lioness! _she gulped to herself. _Well… I guess she must've been fine, and it's too late now, but…_

She was distracted, however, by the sound of an unfamiliar voice of a female, chatting with everyone in the house. She rapped softly on the door, and Mr. Tanaka, the mansion's butler, opened the gigantic door. "Please come in, Miss Flower," he told her, opening the door wider.

Flower timidly entered to find a dark purple hedgehog she'd never seen before laughing, talking with Sonic. Without noticing the fox, the hedgehog smiled, her teeth bared wide and ready to eat, just like the lioness. This was all so strange – was this a dream?


	2. C'mon Let's Be Friends

_Same Day..._

Flower sighed in boredom. She'd been waiting by herself in the living room for what felt like hours now. Flower had been told by Ella to wait there until everyone finished dinner and gathered together so that the purple hedgehog could explain to everyone what she was doing there… and just who she was in the first place.

Flower dipped her arm off the couch, her finger connecting the imaginary dots on the carpet. This got boring rather quickly, so she lay on her back, pretended the ceiling was a starry sky, and resumed the exact same activity.

Flower exhaled a sigh. How long does it take to eat a single meal, anyway? As far as Flower and her highly sensitive nose knew, all they were having for dinner was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and some carrots. Flower made a face at the very thought; she hated carrots. If there were any vegetable she could scrape completely off the list of acceptable foods to eat, it would be carrots. They were just that bad.

Flower tossed and turned on the big green couch, her frustration bottling up with each turn she made. Finally, however, her ears perked up; she heard the creaking of a chair being pushed in by some full, satisfied diner.

_Well, that's a relief, _she thought cynically. The door to the combined kitchen and dining room flew open, but to Flower's disappointment, this revealed the same purple hedgehog who had been talking with everyone earlier. Flower scowled.

The purple hedgehog looked over at her. "Hey, you okay?" she asked flatly, raising an eyebrow as if the fox's okay-ness were a mere data point ripe for collection.

Flower only nodded; that was about all the response she figured such a question deserved.

"Not much for talking?" the hedgehog asked, taking a seat next to Flower.

"Mm." Flower kept her frown.

It was then that Flower had a chance to get a good look at the hedgehog. She looked like she could be fifteen or sixteen years old, with suitable teenage attitude to match. She had long quills, at least half a foot each. Her light blue eyes were complimented by the much more ordinary but nearly identical color of her jeans and denim shirt, the latter of which was decorated with a sardonic pink heart. The hedgehog also wore purple tennis shoes with silly white stripes, but no gloves on her hands. How sweet.

The hedgehog stared at Flower, tapping her foot for an answer. Flower decided to give the girl what she wanted. "I like to talk sometimes," she sighed, looking away.

"Then go ahead and talk to me!" the hedgehog retorted impatiently. "Come on, don'tcha wanna be friends with me?"

Flower crossed her arms and pouted, denying this new girl the dignity even for a head shake.

With that, the hedgehog too crossed her arms and mimed pouting. "Oh, I know this game," she informed Flower. They scooted away from each other. "And I love it," the hedgehog added with an extra dollop of snark. "If you don't wanna talk, then I'll be perfectly happy playing this game. I can stop talking whenever you want. Believe me, I can do it! I'm a really quiet person when I want to be! It's true!"

"Hmph," Flower answered, scooting herself as far as the couch would allow her.

The hedgehog mimicked her action, scooting on the opposite side of the couch. "Quack!"

That was a new one. Flower whirled around, an eyebrow raised at the strange noise from the somewhat less strange new girl. "What did you say?"

"I said," she repeated, "quack!"

A confused voice rang in from through the door to the dining room – Tanaka's. "Is there a duck here?!" he yelped. "I will not allow any wild animals inside this house who have not been properly cooked and marinated!"

The hedgehog burst out laughing, and even Flower couldn't resist a quick smile, though she wouldn't let the girl see it. "Yes, there is," she continued, "and we're having fun with it! It's even teaching us how to swim with our legs up! Care to join… and learn how to swim with your legs up, too?"

"Two ducks," Flower couldn't help but utter, just loud enough to win a thankful smile from the hedgehog.

"Quack, quack! Quack, quack!" both girls continued, letting loose with their ornery bird calls until the door swung open and the diners were clued into just how real these ducks really were. But it was all in good fun, and these people started laughing themselves at the absurdity.

"Okay, you silly birds," Ella told them, wiping a tear from her eye, "is everyone finished?"

"If this is how you people treat your dignified waterfall, then I guess so!" the hedgehog laughed.

"Well, then let's all head over to the living room now," said Ella, her tone changing to exasperation. "Poor, poor Flower must be terribly bored just waiting for us, oh no!"

Flower stared at her flatly.

"By the way," the new girl muttered, elbowing Flower gently to get her attention. "I'm Sam. Samantha the Hedgehog in long form, but who cares about full names anyway when there's stuff to do?"

"And I'm Flower!" she announced proudly.

"I…" Sam sighed. "Uh… that's great! Nice to meet ya, Flower!" She spread out her arms for a perfunctory hug, which Flower eagerly returned.

But their moment would not stay solitary. Just then, they were joined by Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Mr. Tanaka, and Ella.

"Awwww," they all cooed.

"So cute!" Amy shrieked.

With only enough blushing that they could finish off their hug properly, the girls unwrapped each other and sat back down on the couch. After a minor chuckle, everyone took their seats – except Sonic, however, who spoke up.

"Hey, everyone, 'sup? So, now that we're all gathered together, I'd like to give you all a formal introduction to an old friend of mine, someone I haven't seen since I was – wow, was I… twelve?" He trailed off.

"I dunno, we weren't keeping track of that," Sam interjected sarcastically. "Sounds right to me."

"Yeah, anyway…" continued Sonic. "One of my old friends is-"

"Old friends?!" Amy growled. She pointed her finger accusingly over to Sam. "You mean this old siren?!"

"Y-yeah, it's her, Amy," Sonic jittered, scrambling to get the words out in something resembling comprehensible syntax. "I promise, she's not my long-lost girlfriend… or whatever it is girls have incubating up in their crazy heads these days…"

"I take offense to that!" Sam retorted, raising her hand nonchalantly as though in a classroom. "I'll have you know, my crazy head thinks about lots of different things!"

"Well, sah-ree!" Sonic moaned. "But I'm not exactly one of you girls myself – so how am I supposed to know what your fantasies are about?" Sonic then cleared this throat before continuing. "Anyway, yeah, this is my good friend, Sam the Hedgehog."

That finished, Sonic stood up to clear some space for her. A polite applause rang out. "Tails, why are we clapping?" Cream whispered to the fox.

"I... don't know," Tails replied slowly.

Sam shuffled to the front of the room, smiled, gave a small and fleeting wave, and began: "'Sup. I'm Sam the Hedgehog. I'm almost sixteen years old and I can shapeshift into anything I want."

Everyone stared in awe. "Wow," Tails breathed.

"Really?" Cream gasped.

Sam nodded. "Yup! Anything at all!"

And she stared Flower right in the eyes, throwing her the startling realization with a small laugh. "Anything," she repeated.

"That's got to be extremely useful," commented Knuckles, who was sitting by himself in a big green chair and didn't seem to care that that was all of the conversation he had gotten.

Flower sprang to her feet, scurrying right up next to Sam. "Y-you were the lioness I saw! Back at the zoo!" she stammered in disbelief.

"Yes, yes, I was!" Sam confirmed. "Please don't freak out too loudly; I had enough of that back at the zoo."

"Heyyyy… you said something about a zoo earlier as well," Sonic recalled. "Can you tell us a little bit about it?"

"Did the zoo people take good care of you, Miss Sam?" Cream questioned.

Sam sat herself down and thought of how to answer the rabbit's innocent questions. The "zoo people", in reality, had treated her well enough – no thanks to those inane visitors and their bawling infants – but they hadn't really had the time for too much doting. She had even heard the staff state openly how understaffed they were.

But Sam knew that it could break Cream's heart if she told her that. "…Yes, they did!" she explained. "In fact, they took such good care of me, I even thought I'd stay for a while and just… uh, do tricks to entertain them as gratitude for being so… well taken care of! Yeah!"

Cream's eyes sparkled in relief. "Oh good," she smiled. "I know the zoo people are nice people who love animals and will do everything they can to make sure they are happy."

"That's right, sweetie," Ella interjected. "But let's hear what Sam has to say, okay?"

"Okay, Miss Ella!" the rabbit complied.

"Nah, it's fine," Sam joked. "I get interrupted all the time."

Flower blushed, but the others laughed good-naturedly. Sonic motioned for the other hedgehog in the room to talk.

"Okay, so there I was in a jungle," Sam began. "It was called something really transparently descriptive, I know that… the Jungle of Trees? The Leafy Jungle? The Jungle of Lions? Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed. "The White Jungle! Anyways, so I was wandering around there – since, you know, I haven't really got anywhere better to be than uninhabited, remote forests inhabited by dangerous animals, but it's pretty cool when you're one of those animals yourself – when this giant human hunter comes out of nowhere and shoots a dart at my back. Dude didn't even have the dignity to offer me a phony vacation getaway..."

"You travel a lot?" Knuckles asked, newly interested in what Sam had to say.

Sam considered for a moment. "Yeah," she said. "Feels like I'm always moving. And when I'm resting, I tend to get a little stressed after a while."

"Why the obsession with traveling?" Amy wondered aloud. "It's fun, but we all need some time at home to recharge our batteries."

"I don't have a home," Sam replied, a hint of sadness to her voice. "Or a family," she adds a moment later.

Everyone stared at her with pity in their eyes, their questions going unsaid.

Eventually, Mr. Tanaka took it upon himself to break the silence. "I think today has been quite exciting for all of us, and now it is high time to escort Miss Flower and Miss Sam to bed."

"Good idea," Ella chimed in relievedly.

Sonic turned to Sam. "You willing to stay?" he asked.

Sam faked a smile. "Why not? I don't have anywhere to go anyways." Sam sighed. "Besides… I'm just bushed."

"Figures," Sonic replied, cringing at the need to see anyone at all in a state like this. Sonic put a hand on Sam's shoulder, and she blushed only from this slightest of touches. "I really missed you," he whispered near-silently.

She looked up and smiled at him. "I missed you, too."

Sonic nodded, removing his hand from her shoulder and checking his own shoulder for any possible pink-colored complications – luckily, they really were alone.

"Good night," he told her.

"Night," Sam yawned back to him, "ya paranoid lunk," she added, stepping into the hallway. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head at the dismissal of the hedgehog he loved, who he had to admit hadn't changed a bit.

The room was clearing out, Knuckles saddling up to depart to his faraway island paradise and Cream retiring into the arms of her also-exhausted mother. Sonic's thoughts, however, stayed with Sam. He sighed at the warm memories they shared – she had been one of his best friends, before he had met even Tails, and in many ways their relationships paralleled.

The memories flashed diaphanously by like the yellowing pages of an almost-filled scrapbook: walking together, playing tag – Sonic, of course, always won – coming just a bit too close for comfort to an actual, full-on kiss on the lips. That last one he rather liked, and he thought the kiss over fondly.

"Master Sonic?"

Sonic jumped a little, then whirled around to find Mr. Tanaka standing behind him. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it could have been someone much less favorable toward the prospect of him thinking about this girl. "Don't do that," he shuddered.

"My apologies, Master Sonic," the butler said, "but I can't help but notice that you look uneasy. Is something the matter?"

"Something the matter?" Sonic echoed. "H-haha! No way, Mr. T."

Mr. Tanaka stared at him. "I am not convinced," he answered.

Sonic sighed. "Sorry… I just-" Sonic cut himself off, feeling that the fullest explanation of his feelings could wait. "I'm just a little out of it." Sonic tried again. "Egghead causing trouble as usual, of course, but then a friend who I haven't seen in years suddenly appears."

Mr. Tanaka frowned. "Are you not happy to see her?"

"No, no, no, no," Sonic clarified. "I'm always glad to catch up with old friends. It's just, ah... it's very, very, _very_ complicated."

"Then I shall not distress you further," Mr. Tanaka said. "It is late and you seem to be very tired. Let your body and mind rest – then you will feel refreshed enough to conquer your challenges, exactly like the most heroic of warriors do."

Sonic smiled, shaking his head as if playing the typical role of the graduated student of one of these kung-fu masters the butler loved imitating. "Thanks, Mr. T. You and your endless kung-fu flicks never fail to put a smile on my face."

"You are welcome," Mr, Tanaka responded. "Remember, if you need to talk about something that I am an option. Go now. Rest, young warrior."

"Okay," Sonic replied, making sure to punctuate his response with a signature thumbs-up. "G'night, Mr. T," he yawned, winking.

Mr. Tanaka chuckled lightly. "And good night to you, Master Sonic." He bowed and, with that, disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.

Sonic watched him leave, wondering just how this man made film clichés so poignant and effective. Shrugging it off as another one of the man's many mysteries, Sonic left the room himself.


	3. HelloSonic?

One day...

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho!" Dr. Eggman cackles filled the main room of the Eggcarrier. Every robot ignored him as they were used to their crazy creator laughing on a daily basis. They robots knew the exact reason why he was laughing: the doctor had an idea. Every morning, the Doctor would dream up a bunch of ideas, mainly inventions on how to prevent Sonic's interventions, and when Eggman came up with an idea that satisfied him the best, he would laugh until two certain robots came in and said-

"Oh brilliant Doctor, what idea do you have today?" Decoe, a tall gold robot and Bocoe, a short, stout silver robot asked in unison.

Eggman slowed his laughter down, hacked then took some deep breathes. Eggman glanced at his two robots with an amused look on his face then spoke. "I'll gladly tell you two, but first-" Eggman extends out his mammoth hand. The robots starred at his hand. Eggman glared at the two. "Well?"

"Well what sir?" the baffled robots questioned.

"MY SANDWICH YOU IMBECILES!" Eggman shouted at them, his voice vibrating the entire room.

Decoe's and Bocoe's memories sprang to life. Oh right. Duh. "Oh yeah," Deoce remembered. "I remember now." He turned roughly to the silver robot. "I thought you got it!"

"I thought YOU got it," argued Bocoe, pointing his finger accusingly to the gold robot.

"One moment in the oil room you said then we will remember to bring the Doctor's sandwich!"

"No no no you said-"

"SOMEONE BRING ME MY SANDWICH BEFORE-" Eggman was cut off by a large club sandwich shoved right into his mouth by a little jet black robot who used his own jet pack in order to get the sandwich in Eggman's mouth. Eggman's goggle eyes widen, his expression freezing as he slowly chewed, sucking up the sandwich whole like one giant spaghetti noodle. Eggman swallowed hard then placed a hand on his 3-D shaped belly. Eggman let out a sigh of relief, a piece of lettuce escaping the doctor's lips. Silence.

The black robot smiled. "Well? How did I do Doctor?" he asked eagerly.

Eggman sat up in his chair and returned the smile, much to the Decoe and Bocoe dismay. "I have to say Bokkun, I am impressed," Eggman spoke gingerly to him.

Decoe and Bocoe stared at the Doctor in confusion. Bokkun doesn't notice and squeals softly. The great Dr Ivo Robotnik is congratulating someone like Bokkun, the most useless robot on the planet?

"Your timeliness has saved my hunger and therefore my sanity," Eggman continued. Decoe snickered. That is so true he thought. "You've been ignored for too long."- Bokkun nodded viciously.- "So I think it is time that I should reward you with the efforts that you receive practically no recognition for. Are you ready to hear what it is?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Tell me! Tell me!" Bokkun begged.

"NOTHING NOW BRING ME A NAPKIN!" Eggman shattered Bokkun's hopes of his boss actually considering a reward for him.

Bokkun's eyes welled up with tears. "But-but-but-" he stammered.

"No buts!" Eggman yelled in the small robot's face. "Now get back to work!"

Bokkun cried as he flew from one side of the room to an automatic door. Open, slam! Even with the door closed, his cries echoed throughout the metal hall.

"And don't forget to do my laundry," Eggman called after him. "My underwear needs some serious scrubbing!" His answer was greeted by Bokkun's wails. Eggman whirls abruptly to the two robots, they were still staring at him dumbfounded.

The robots each released a sigh of relief. "Boy, Doctor for a moment I thought-"

"You were actually going to give him-"

"A raise," Becoe interrupts him.

"Hey! That's what I was going to say!" Decoe protested.

"I was going to say it first!"

"No I was!"

No I-"

"Shut up both of you!" Eggman howls, shaking his arms and legs like a crying baby. "I swear, peace and quiet nowadays are just as rare as peace and quiet from that annoying hedgehog!"

"Speaking of 'that hedgehog' sir," Bocoe spoke up. "What are you going to do about him?"

Eggman paused, forgetting his rage. "That is precisely what I am going to tell the both of you."

Decoe and Bocoe also forgot their anger toward each other and leaned closer to the Doctor. "What do you plan on doing Doctor?" inquired Decoe.

"What idea came to your brilliant mind today?" adds Bocoe.

"A ridiculously crazy idea, my most loyal robots," Eggman answers. "For it is sooo ridiculous that not even my most technologically advanced robot will be able to process that."

"What is it Doctor! What is it?" the two robots instantly became excited.

Robotnik inhaled a breath then said: "Metal Sonic."

The robots blink. "What?"

"Metal. Sonic." repeated the scientist, more slowly.

Decoe and Bocoe starred in disbelief. "Didn't he get destroyed?" the gold robot questioned.

"Like eight thousand times?" the silver robot chimed in.

"Eight thousand and one times," Eggman corrected them.

The robots starred once more. "You were counting?" they asked in unison.

Eggman shrugs. "I lost count at seven hundred ninety-two," he admits. "But that's not the point! The point is I recently made my latest and greatest Metal Sonic model. It required a lot of laser surgery to put him together and therefore functioning properly."

"And here I thought he was watching TV," Bocoe mutters aside to Decoe.

Eggman, not hearing this, continues. "He is better than any of the Metal Sonic prototypes I ever made. He has more weapons that are equipped better than prototypes one to one thousand thirty-five,"- "is he really going to name all his prototypes?" Decoe asks his comrade.- "has greater speed than prototypes three thousand three hundred seventy-four to five thousand eight hundred ninety-two,"- "looks like he is." Bocoe answers, already bored out of his mind.- "and the best part is," Eggman announces dramatically. "By inventing this Metal Sonic prototype, my chances of destroying that hedgehog has increased from thirty-three percent to one hundred percent. I will demolish the hedgehog once and for all and Eggmanland will finally come to be!" The Doctor heard snores, coming from-Decoe and Bocoe! They must have activated sleep mode while the Doctor talked about Metal Sonic. A frown crossed his face. "Wake up you useless pieces of junk!" he ordered, the robots waking up at once.

"Wha...?" they yawned, then felt their breath cut short as they looked at their fuming creator. The robots could practically see the smoke seeping out of the Doctor's ears.

The robots got down on their knees and bowed. "We're so sorry Doctor," they stammered. "We promise we won't ever do it again!"

"Says the robots who did that stunt at least eighty-eight times," the annoyed Doctor spat.

"You were counting?" Bocoe asks, who stopped bowing.

Eggman shrugs once more. "I lost count at twelve."

Decoe halted bowing also. "How can you be sure this prototype works?"

Eggman strokes chin. "I've tested him every night last week. It's quite..." the Doctor searches for the right word. A second later, Eggman leans to the robots' ears and whispers the word that sent shivers up the robots' metal spine. "Deadly."

Becoe gasps. Decoe gives Eggman an unamused look. "Really?"

Eggman smirks. "If you don't believe me, you can go to the training room and find out for yourself."

Decoe gulps. The Doctor never uses the word "deadly" unless whatever invention the Doctor created was actually "deadly." Decoe, compared to other robots, is weak. In fact, if Decoe didn't have Becoe alongside him, any robot he comes into contact with can and will demolish him. It was hard picturing a robot like Metal Sonic as powerful as the Doctor claims. Decoe decided he is better off assuming the worst. As usual.

"No sir," the gold robot replied, lowering his head in the process.

The smirk on the Doctor's face widened. "Excellent choice," he acknowledged. His hand moved from his chin to his lengthy mustache. "Assuming everything goes according to plan," Robotnik went on. "Then that hedgehog should be out of my life. For good!"

"So where is this Metal Sonic?" Becoe spoke up. "And when will you unleash him?"

Eggman's smirked extended so far that his smirk could be compared to the Grinch's smirk; that alone was enough to make the robots scared stiff.

Meanwhile...

Sam and Flower walked together side by side. They were in the Mystic Ruins on their way to Tails's workshop. It was not for a special reason other than Tails himself wanted the girls to see it. The girls were unfamiliar with the location and got lost as soon as they went into a nearby forest.

"I'm scared," Flower informed the hedgehog, slightly tugging the hedgehog's purple shirt.

"Don't worry we'll find the workshop," Sam attempted to comfort her. "All you have to do is stay with me and we'll-"

Sam was cut off by the sound of a rocket, flying overhead. Flower squealed and jumped right in Sam's arms. "Wha-wha-what was that?"

Sam gently set Flower's feet to the ground. "Just an airplane," Sam dismissed the sound.

"It didn't sound like a airplane," Flower mumbled timidly, her hand squeezing Sam's hand as though her life depended on it.

Suddenly the air went chill; everything went silent. The girls gulped at the sudden quietness. Chills travelled up their spines, their hands trembled in harmony, their hearts beat faster. They felt like someone is watching them, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The girls scanned the area nervously but could find a trace of anything abnormal. Still their bodies shook.

Suddenly a blue figure zoomed past them. The girls' eyes widened in relief. Whew! It was only Sonic. For a moment the girls let their guard down. A moment was all Sonic needed to speed back to them. Once Sonic stopped before the girls however, they immediately noticed something different about him; he was Sonic in robot form. His eyes glowed at the girls menacingly.

Flower shyly looked up toward the supposed Sonic. "Hello...Sonic?" she greeted him uncertainly.

Metal Sonic gazed at Flower, then raised his hand and slapped her in one swift movement. Flower goes sailing to the ground, debris flying everywhere and did not stop until her head bonk against a small fence. Sam's eyes enlarged in shock. That shock molded to anger quickly as Sam leaped into the air, shapeshifting into a great grizzly bear. With a great loud roar, Sam initiated the fight.

Sam clawed to the right. Then to the left. Metal Sonic dodged each of her attacks effortlessly. Sam quickened her pace, anger and determination overcoming her. As soon as the bear stops swiping,- she can't keep this up forever- Metal Sonic readily delivered a kick to the side of her head. The bear collapsed, for the robot kicked her pretty hard. Sam is sure he could fracture her skull if he wanted to.

Metal Sonic stood directly in front of her, his red eyes glowed. His arm changed shape, from a regular arm to a laser rifle. Metal Sonic gave Sam a look as though to say "I have you now." Sam glared at him. A small beam of blue energy grouped together in a single ball of energy. Once the energy stopped growing, Metal Sonic fired only to have missed the hedgehog, for she had transformed into a bird. The bird flew up into the sky, Metal Sonic glowering at her.

Metal Sonic's jet back roared to life, lifting the robot straight up to the sky. Before the bird knew it, Metal Sonic levitated in front of her, his bright blue laser flying directly at her. Sam shapeshifted into a rhino and dropped literally like a rock from the sky. The ground shook under her feet. The rhino clawed the ground, her nostrils flaring. Metal Sonic zoomed like an airplane, shooting his machine gun bullets right at Sam's tail. The rhino dashed before a single bullet could hit her. The bullets just barely missed her.

Sam huffed and panted. Boy was that robot good. As soon as Metal Sonic flew was at her side, he punched the rhino in the face so hard, Sam went flying, crashing into the rocky wall on the other side of a mini mountain. Sam regained her original form. Her body felt like a giant bruise; everything scorched with blistering pain. The hedgehog winced every time her she moved even in the slightest movement. This is it thought Sam. It's over. Metal Sonic will be here any moment and he will finish her here.

Sure enough, Metal Sonic stood in front of her, prepared to inflict the final blow. Sam covered her eyes with her arm. This was it. She is ready. At least she knows she done something good in her life; protecting Flower. The robot held his hand up, but abruptly froze in place. He stood still as though rusting caught up to him.

Sam opened her eyes to see Flower standing behind him, a screwdriver in hand. Sam gasped. "Flower?" she could hardly believe that it is her.

Flower nodded proudly. "Hiya Sam," she replied. "Are you okay?" she noticed Sam's bruises.

"I'm okay," Sam lied but winced a moment later. "Owww. Okay, maybe not as okay as I could be but you know, I'm not dying." Sam let out a fake chuckle then howled in pain, clutching her stomach.

Flower looked over to see what is wrong to find the purple hedgehog battered and bruised. Flower's eyes widened. "You are hurt!" she exclaimed. "I need to get you to a doctor or somebody!" Flower turned her head from this way to that; she could not see any place that resembled a hospital. Such a place would not be within reach for miles.

As Flower wondered what she was going to do, Metal Sonic came back to life. His arm fell loosely at his side, his red eyes glowed in fury. "I have toyed with the both of you for too long." He spoke in a monotonic yet impatient voice. "My original assignment was to kill my loathsome copy, but since you two made it clear that I cannot continue my goal until you are both terminated, that will be exactly what I will do!" He walked over to them slowly. "Any last words?" the blue robot asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered, her hand clutching to her stomach. "How come you choose this moment to talk?"

"I wasn't able to talk before," Metal Sonic replied. "Your friend has altered my system to shut down temporarily but she must have activated my voice box in the process. Now I am able to communicate with people. Not that it matters." Metal Sonic pauses. "I haven't been able to talk since prototype seven thousand nine hundred and twenty- three."

"You were counting?" Flower wanted to know.

"I lost count at five thousand four hundred sixty-nine," Metal Sonic confesses. "But assuming the two of you said what you wanted to say, I shall unleash your deaths." Before Metal Sonic could do anything however, someone soared through the air, kicking the robot down to the ground. His vision was blurry; he could not see the owner of the kick.

"Anyone who messes with my friends messes with me too," said the voice that belongs to-

"Sonic!" the girls cheered.

Metal Sonic stood up. "You cannot defeat me," Metal Sonic growled, pointing his robot finger toward the hedgehog. "You will never defeat me! I am an all-powerful killing machine. I will see your ultimate destruction! I make you fall to the ground. I am unstoppable! Therefore you cannot-"

Flower's screwdriver cut him off, her tool scrambling wires with bolts, bolts with wires. Metal Sonic moved away from her but not before he began malfunctioning. His entire body shook, bolts escaping from the joints in his arms and legs, various weapons firing at random times. Sonic, Sam and Flower barely dodged the weapons in time.

"We're outta here!" Sonic announced, putting Sam over one shoulder, Flower on the other, then jumped off to leave his clone in an malfunctioning rampage. Once the trio was safely on the ground, Sonic noticed Sam's injuries. "Oh no. Sam what happened to you?" Sonic worried as his mind listed all the possibilities that Metal Sonic could have done. Shot her repeatedly, scratched her with huge claws or worse.

"Just...get me to a hospital," Sam begged weakly, snapping the hero's attention on the matter at hand.

"Right," Sonic acknowledged. He turned to Flower. "You are coming with me," he told her. Sonic scooped up Sam in his arms, racing off to the nearest hospital, Flower flying through the air.

Later...

Sam came out of the hospital to find only Flower sitting on the concrete near the street. Sonic was nowhere in sight. Sam sat next to her. Flower stole a glance from her.

"Sonic has some business to take care of," Flower informed her. "So he asked me to say he is sorry for not being here to see you but he also said he will meet us back at the mansion."

"Okay."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," Sam returned. "Much much much much better. I think I'll recover just fine." Sam suddenly remembered something. "Flower?"

"Yes?"

"How did you make the robot stop working? You had him frozen in place like twice."

Flower thought for a moment, then answered. "Robotnik's robots taught me how to."

"Egghead's robots taught you?" Sam could not believe her ears. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know." Flower shrugged. "I guess they thought I was robotized and they taught me basic maychanics."

"Mechanics," Sam corrected her. "So you could build a robot if you wanted to?"

"I dunno," Flower honestly wasn't sure though this is something she could try later with Tails. "Maybe. The robots didn't teach me very much mechanics. Just mechanics that a five year old robot will know."

"So a five year old robot saved us from robot Sonic?" Sam joked, nudging Flower's arm.

"Pretty much," Flower agreed, returning the nudge. The girls laughed, their nudging turned into a poking contest. And they continued their game even after they arrived home.

Now isn't that sweet? Sam and Flower are getting along with one another as though they are sisters. Kind of like Amy and Cream. Do not worry; what ever you may be wondering about will be explained in the upcoming stories though I can't say which ones. Okay QOTS: Which Sonic character you want to see more of?


	4. That's-a Big-a Froggy

_One day..._

"Ooof!" howled Big the Cat as he stumbled, struggling for balance. He failed, and he fell to the ground. Sitting up, he rubbed his head. It didn't hurt him, but Big pretended he was anyway.

It reminded him of when his mother would rub his wounds, easing the pain until he felt better, whether it was a scratch or a tummy ache. In this case, only a slight throbbing emerged on his sore area, and it went away before he could blink twice.

Big got to his feet slowly, scratched his behind, then scanned the area. Nope – nobody there. Not that Big cared or wondered about this anyway; company or not, Big was more than happy spending his lazy days with his best frog friend Froggy. Or as Big would say, "Fwoggy."

Big loved Froggy. He loved that frog to death. He loved Froggy so much that he would do anything at all for the squirmy little creature. In fact, Big had nearly drowned himself once in the struggle to rescue his favorite amphibian. Popular consensus on the relationship between feline and anuran was that it was a bit creepy, but cute. Big had no one else to turn to, though, and neither did Froggy, so creepy or not, they were happy being who they were.

But they were happier being who they were and doing something. Big was bored, and he only had the usual couple of activities to pick from: sleep or fishing. Of course, Big was a cat, and cats need a lot of sleep, but he was also a big cat, and big cats need a lot of food. Perhaps this pool of possibilities was plenty large anyway.  
Ugh! Decisions. Big hated making decisions. In fact, one of the reasons he moved into the forest was to avoid the frustration of decisions. If he wanted to do something, he would go right ahead and do it. If he didn't want to do something, like clean up his hut, he would continue on his merry way without it, and the litter strewn across the floor of his hut was a testament to just how attractive this concept was.

However, sometimes one had to think on one's feet and make a decision quickly. Sometimes it could be a very serious matter – there were predators lurking around in some parts of the forest, hunters who came by every once in a while, and sometimes there were even...

"Sam! I'm hungry!" someone – maybe a little girl – complained.

"Just be quiet, Flower! We'll find something," another voice replied annoyedly. This voice had also come from a girl, but she was a few years older at least.

Big grinned. _New friends,_ he thought happily. _I hope they like fishing._ He started off for the girls to introduce himself and his very best friend – _oh, no,_ he thought. _Where's Fwroggy?_

Socializing would have to wait; Big could do nothing but retrace his steps over to where Froggy was last seen: the hammock. But Froggy is not there. _Oh, no, not again! _he panicked. Meanwhile, the voices grew closer. Sighing, Big hopped up to his feet, deciding that he would greet his visitors first.

Before Big knew it, however, he collided head-on with the two girls, and everyone stumbled and fell on his or her rear end. Big stared wide-eyed at his visitors – they did not look frightened, only perhaps a little confused. _Uh-oh,_ the cat thought. _I was too enthusiastic, and I got carried away again_!

The black fox was the first to react. "Kitty!" she cried, pouncing on Big immediately.

Big's eyes widened as the fox wrapped her short arms as far as she could around the cat's large belly. The girl smiled, but she was strong – she nearly crushed Big's stomach – or maybe his stomach was really that soft. Probably both. The hedgehog, the older of the two girls, stomped over to Big, yanked the fox off of him, and grabbed him by the collar.

"What's your problem, bro?!" she shouted at him. "If you hurt Flower in any way – any way at all – I WILL let you have it!"

"But I didn't hurt anyone," Big replied, distressed even more by the prospect of being accused of hurting someone than by the more immediate pain in his own neck. "All I wanted to do is say hi. Let go of my neck, please!" Big begged.

The hedgehog released her hold on the cat, who toppled down again and shook the ground on impact. She examined him closely, searching for anything that could possibly pose a threat about him. "I guess you look pretty harmless," she decided, unconvincingly. "But how about looking where you're going, huh?"

"O-okay," Big replied cautiously.

The hedgehog stuck out her hand towards him. It… looked like a pretty average handshake, but he was just a little spooked after her previous behaviors. She didn't care; she continued anyway. "I am Samantha the Hedgehog – please, call me Sam – and this-" she motioned over to the black fox, who was sitting quietly next to her – "is Flower the Fox."

"Hiya, Sam and Flower," Big greeted them. That was nice – he could relate to them better with a couple of nice names to attach to them. "I'm Big the Cat and I like fish!"

Flower giggled. "He's funny!"

Sam looked over from Big to Flower, then back to Big, then back to Flower. She chuckled. "Yeah, he is," she admitted. "He is kind of cool. Sorry for my attitude; I just can't take any chances with my buddy Flower. She means a lot to me."

"That's okay," Big replies. "I have someone I wanna protect, too-" But thinking of this special friend called to mind the unfortunate memory that they were not together. "Fwooggy!" he bellowed. "Where are you?"

Sam didn't look concerned – she held out her palm with a frog in it. Big jumped with joy, scooping up the green creature in one scoop. "Fwroggy! Fwroggy! Fwroggy! I am so happy to see you! Where have you been?"

_"Ribbit," _croaked the frog.

"I missed you too, little guy," Big cooed, hugging it. "Where'd you find him?" he asked the hedgehog.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. At a pond or something." Silence followed between the three.

"Wanna go fishin'?"

* * *

Sam and Flower had never fished before, but Big was not bothered by this; he could teach them after all. Anyone could learn. And, as it turned out, they were quite good at it.

All afternoon, the trio fished by the pond with endless fishies – in Big's words, naturally – and caught all kinds of them. Flower even caught a monster-sized fish that required both Sam's and Big's help to wrench from the pond's confines. By evening, Big had enough fish to last him a week or two.

Big marveled at the well-earned prizes. "Lookie at all these fishies," he remarked. "That's-a a lot of fish for me-a."

"Why're you-a talking like-a that-ta?" Sam asked, mimicking his use of that accent from that faraway land where pizza came from.

"Uh… I don't know. Sometimes I like to talk funny."

"'Sometimes…'" Sam muttered.

"That's-a big-a Froggy," Flower said in her own imitation of the accent, behind the hedgehog and cat. She held up Froggy in her hands and grinned. Everyone laughed.

Big's stomach rumbled. "I tink we should eat." He said.

_"Ribbit,"_ wheezed Froggy.

"You tink so?"

_"Ribbit."_

"Okay!"

The girls were staring at him with puzzled eyes. "What is he saying?" Flower asks the purple cat.

"Fwoggy tinks you guys should eat with us," Big answered. His eyes beamed. "Would you like to do that?"

* * *

Five minutes later, Sam, Flower, Big, and Froggy all took their seats in the "Dining Room" – more accurately, the middle of the living room and all crowded up in a circle, devouring their catches of the day. Big's two-week prediction hadn't been worth much after all: he ate the most, with half the fish gone in two minutes. Sam and Flower didn't mind though; they had had a big lunch.

The chewing of the meat from the bones eliminated the need for much conversation, and they were all pretty much fine with that. When, at long last, the dinner was nothing but bone, everyone burped and smiled.

"That was good," Sam was the first to speak.

"Hmm-mmm," Flower nodded.

Big's tongue scraped at the corners of his mouth, savoring the taste of fish left over, and eventually he cleared his throat. "You like it?"

The girls bobbled their heads obediently, as if somehow they were activating levers to dispense more.

Big grinned. "Great! Tanks for staying to eat with me!"

"No..." Flower went over to Big, planted a kiss on his cheek and said, "Thank you for letting us eat with you!"

"Out of all the chubby hermit cats we've encountered in this forest," Sam chimed in, "you're the coolest."

Big smiled at the compliment, rubbed at the spot where Flower had kissed him, and grinned. "Why, thank you, Sam! You can come an' stay whenever you want to."

"Maybe we will," Sam mused. "'S not like this area's real estate is packed to the brim with hotels. …Oh, and we like you, too."

Big clapped his giant hands together. "Yippee! Yippee! We gots some new friends! You heard wat she said Fwoggy?" He looked over to the girls. "Tanks for coming once more, I mean it."

The fox and hedgehog nodded, but this took their heads on a brief journey that allowed them to see once again just what kind of room they had dined in. "By the way, Big..." Sam groaned, "ever heard of a maid?"

Big shook his head.

"A maid is someone who cleans up the messes you make, and we just got a new maid."

Big's ears perked up. "Wow, really? Is she nice? Can I have her?"

Smiling and waggling one finger at him, Sam continued. "'She' is a boy and a robot. And yes, our maid is very nice."

"Can I share her – uhhhh, I mean him – wit you?"

"Not unless you live in the mansion with us."

Big's face fell. "But dat means I have to weave the hut."

Sam shrugged. "Well, sometimes that's what happens in life. Ya gotta make sacrifices – in this case, clean dwelling quarters versus familiarity. You pick."

Flower tugged at Sam's shirt. "But he doesn't have to," she reminded the hedgehog. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to stay in his home."

"Yeah, you don't have to, Big," Sam clarified. "It's up to you. It's your decision."

Decisions, again. Big's head turned from the hut to Sam and Flower. He thought. Hard. Did he want to leave or stay? Ugh. Not again. Stupid decisions. Everything was much simpler when Big stayed in his hut. He hardly had to make any decisions; whatever he felt like doing he did at his own pace.

When Big arrives at the house, everyone would probably going to tell him what to do, whether he wanted to or not, and that would be even worse than having to make decisions himself. Including that mysterious supposed maid.

So it was with a wearied heart that as much as Big liked his new friends, he had one older friend he was even closer to. He couldn't leave. "Sorry, Sam and Flower, but that's one pond I won't be fishing in tonight. But don't worry – if a clean house here is what you want, I have a great idea that will suit us both!"

The girls eyed each other in confusion.

"Fwoggy, will you be my maid?"


	5. Enter Nack the Weasel

One day...

I woke up this morning with no idea where I'd be aside from in the middle of a field full of flowers. See I know something about the ground.

I was in those flowers an' unsure of what to do, I stood to my feet, wobbling a li'l since I just woke up. I fumbled around for about to see if I still have my weapons belt. Yep, still here.

My weapons belt had all the belts a bounty hunter could ask for: grapple-it-up hook, smell-ya-later grenades, I'll bwast you laser rifle, and lots more than that. I had more than everything I need in order to get the job done. An' I get hired a lot since everybody needs a person like me. I hunt for lots of things. I hunt whoever it is that needs hunting.

Ya probably noticed my accent. 'Least that's what I call it. My sister, Nic the Weasel, says I talk like I dunno how to talk properly. But that's expected from someone like her. She's one of those persons who thinks they are so great, like a freakin' queen. She calls herself sophis...sophist...she's just full of herself! She's so arrogant, it sickens me. Now that I'd think about it, that's probably the reason why we don't get along so dandy.

With no destination in mind, I'd wondered aimlessly like a lone bat in a cave. Eventually, I wandered to a neighborhood, rows an' rows o' look alike houses. I mean, if you were me, if you'd be wondering' if you were seeing the same plain seashell white houses again and again. I was looking through the houses, right, when I see a great big house- an' when I say big, I mean bigger than my house- with a great big silver gate, a bright red roof an' a driveway big enough for' like twenty cars. That be the second biggest house I'd ever saw.

For a moment I stared at it with a dreamy look on my handsome features. I didn't know what to do so I just stared at it for who knows how long. Then my acute hearing picked up something: the sound of a door being unlocked.

Normally my first instant be shooting' whoever dares to come out, but this time I was feeling unlucky so I dove for those bushes instead. I made a bit of noise but remained silent after that. I peeked out to see who it was coming out. A tall thin-eyed man in black came out, his eyes searched, searching for anything suspicious. Not that I'd blame him.

The guy was out for a bit then retreated into the house, apparently satisfied no one are here. I slowly poked my legs out, then my arms then my head. Pretty soon I was out in the open, exposed. I took a breath before I got an idea. I would sneak in, right, all stealthy like. But the question is how?

I glanced up to the gate when another idea came to my head. The gate. I would climb the gate like nobody's business an' when I get there... I dunno, but right now I'm gonna go with it and act on instant. Just like the bounty hunter rules.

I put my foot on the bar of the gate, pushing my weight on the foot, then did the same thing for my utter foot. I ran outta bars quick and I realized I needed a new tactic. That's when I remembered that I gotta a grapple-it-up hook. Yes. I knew that this thing would come in real handy. I tried to pull the weapon from my belt but that darned thing was stuck! Full of fury, I pulled harder. Arrgh. That little…!

I pulled harder an' harder 'til I was practically tugging the thing. It was super hard, balancing with your two feet on the gate while trying to get the weapon outta yer belt. If this be the Underworld, I would living it right now. I tugged and tugged at it for I dunno how long 'til I heard a loud rrrrriiiiiippppp! An' the gun came all loose on me. It'd collapsed on the ground, at least a good six feet from the height I climbed.

I groaned. All of my hard work an' this is how I'd be repaid?! Just one, just one time can life be easy for Nack the Weasel? Apparently not. I needed that gun; I can't get up ta any high places without it. At the same time, though, I'm so close to getting up to the big house my effort would be nothing if I jumped now.

Before I could make up my mind, the gate moved. Someone's coming and I'm not hiding from them! The gate opened all the way and I lost my balance and fell in the bushes. I might've screamed a bit and I let out an ooff! As I tumbled in them. I fell right on my back; pain shot all over my body. I'd be lucky if I'd not break any bones. I rolled over to my side, hoping the pain would go away. I rustled the leaves once again. As I thought anger thoughts, the person-who'd be a girl, woman even- who opened the gate and asked, "Is there anyone there?"

The girl went over to them bushes I'd be at, tore apart the bushes and gasped. "Oh my God! Are you alright?" She had dark skin, wore a blue dress and spoke with a Spanish accent. Not as good as mine 'course. She scooped me up in her arms and ran over to the house. All I could do was wonder what else would be a happening.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I awoke again to the sound of the girl-woman excuse me- walking around the place, humming a merry tune. I groaned a bit because the tune she sang rang in my ears. Soon as I let out a noise, the woman was at my side instantly.

"Are you alright darling?" she asks me.

I nod then I said, "'Course I'd be fine, why you ask?"

"You looked badly hurt," the woman replied. "It pained me to see you like this, so thank goodness you are alright!" The woman picked me up as though I were a little boy. I'd nearly be gasping for my life that woman squeezed me hard! She released me soon as she saw I'd gasped for breath. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I have gotten carried away. Would you like some soup?"

My ears perked up. "Soup?"Excellent just what I need. "Ya mean the sorta soup that has bugs in it?"

The woman gave me a funny look. "No...but if you like, I can fix that up for you."

"Yes I want some soup," I replied, more than anxious to get that in my belly.

As I'd waited, I spotted something outta the corner of my eye; it was a mix of blue and red. Then I remembered something: that was the exact color mix I'd sawed when I'd gotten a contract long 'go. I thought and thought 'bout it. What was his name, what was his name I thought over and over again. Still I could not remember.

I cursed to myself for having the poorest memory outta the family. That guy, I could sworn I'd seen him before. He was blue, ran 'round an' 'round lots, and had those green eyes...

Of course! It was Sonic the Hedgehog! How did I not 'member this from before? I'd a contact to kidnap the little booger years back an' now that I'm here an' he's here. I gotta go an' redeem myself an' catch him once an' for all! I gotta catch Sonic!

But first, the woman. I've got to dispose her quickly. I sneaked my way in the cooking place- don't 'member the name- then spotted her just mixing the tiny pot. Probably full of bugs could be. My brain went through lotsa options; throwing a smell-ya-later grenades, tie her up with a grapple-it-up hook, or even a swift punch in the shin. All sounded good ideas but only one idea I could do.

I got tired of this quick so I just threw a smell-ya-later grenade and ran outta the door. I gotta get that hedgehog. It's been years since I last seen him, sure an' my boss says he ain't worth the trouble, but still; I got to redeem myself. The boss was intent on catching the fiend then so maybe it'll make a difference that I get the hedgehog and I bring him to the boss. I could even get the promotion I deserve!

Excited, I ran faster than ever, scanning around for the hedgehog; gotta find 'im, gotta find 'im, gotta find 'im my thoughts ran like crazy. Holy cow I forgot how obsessed I was with the hedgehog. Not as obsessed as that one pink hedgehog but still; I don't care 'bout 'him, I care 'bout the money involved with it. Long as the hedgehog is alive and brought before my boss, I'm happy.

I stopped in my tracks; I'd heard something but I dunno what it is, but it sounds like talking. I look over my shoulder and see not only the blue hedgehog but also a purple hedgehog too. They haven't noticed me yet thank goodness, so I decided to hide 'hind the nearest place I could find: a tree.

I went over to the tree, letting the huge bark cover me up from the still unsuspecting hedgehogs. They hadn't seen a thing! If I could only from a plan, Sonic will be in my grasp. I chuckled to myself at the thought of it.

Suddenly the purple hedgehog turned over at my direction. I covered my mouth ta suppress the laugh, holding my breath. The hedgehog made her way here, carefully inspecting' the tree, ready to attack if necessary. She proceeded to look at the back of the tree, something I ain't prepared for. I froze in place, waiting' for the hedgehog ta see me. I supposed there ain't a point in just hiding from her as she doesn't know me. As far as I know she ain't got any idea about me.

She spotted me. "Ummm...what're you doing here?" she questioned, eyeing me as though I am a criminal.

I fumbled 'round for any gadgets to help me while keeping any contact with her. "I was just... y'know, playin' hide an' seek wit my little brothah," the words stumbled outta my mouth like a broken pipe.

"In our backyard?" the hedgehog put her hand on her hips, fully demanding my real intention. "And what're you doing digging in your belt?"

I didn't bother answering. Instead I kept my fingers moving in my belt, finally finding something that could be of some use: my laser rifle. I pulled it out heroically an' all an' I said, "Ya bettah freeze yah body if ya know what's good for ya!"

The hedgehog looked startled and did as I said an' stretched her arms straight to the sky. However, I now had the blue hedgehog's attention. "Get away from her!" he shouts an' gives me a kick my hand, my rifle slipped from my fingers.

"Haven't ya evah heard o'askin' for permission before ya knock something outta sumeone's hand!" I growled.

"Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?!" the purple hedgehog shrieked.

Sonic stopped sending me death stares long enough to answer. "That's Nack the Weasel," he points at me. "He and I have had a bad history, he's tried to capture me, hold me hostage, boil me in oil-" I really did that?- "and he tried to kill me once," Sonic finished listing all the things I may or may not have done.

The purple hedgehog glares at me. "You did all of that to Sonic?"

"An' more," I replied with a grin, getting out my other laser rifle, the gun aimed directly at her. I opened fire, the beams hitting her body. She fell back, unconscious.

Sonic eyed the hedgehog in horror, then immediately switched to anger. "You're gonna get it big time, bub," he yells as he forms into a ball, homing attack me.

I was knocked back into the tree, an apple falling onto my lap. I took out my rifle once more, open fire again. I hit him a few times, I saw, but that didn't seem to stop him from homing attacking me once more. I fell backwards, stumbling before I landed. I knew I had to change tactics an' fast.

That's when I got myself an idea that won't fail. I shot my beam over to a nearby mirror, shooting back at once back toward me! I ducked but Sonic hit the beam, burning him slightly as he took the full blast. He too, became unconscious. I grinned as far as my mouth would allow; finally! It happened! It really happened! I finally captured Sonic the Hedgehog! Wait 'til my boss sees this!

I slithered over to my prize, fully admiring it. You're a dead hedgehog now Sonic because when my boss is through with ya, he's gonna pay me an' you'll be nothing more than a...than a... I dunno. You won't be a hedgehog no more no doubt about that.

'Fore I knew it, I was in the air, a bright red mark on my cheek. It happened so fast that I barely had enough time to react. I had enough time to look down an' notice a giant gloved hand. What the bloody heck? Where'd that hand come from? I'd come back to reality as I heard the air zipping through my ears.

I founded myself screaming at the top of my lungs, thinking nothing but my well-deserved doom. This is it. This is the end of Nack the Weasel, the infamous bounty hunter back on-

Wait! I'm in a different area. I get a strange sense that I'd been here before: the place was completely dark except for the small light glaring at a circular area with a chair. An' in that chair was my boss, completely clothed in a dark hood. He's got a reputation for being intimidating, but I didn't care at the moment; the sight of something familiar shot relief 'rou my body.

I ran over to him. "Thank goodness I'm here," I says. "But how? How would that be possible?"

"I teleported you here," he informed me. "I also sent you to Earth in order to kidnap the fox boy, which you sadly failed at."

I couldn't quite believe my ears. "W-what?"

"I sent you on a mission to redeem yourself," he stated. "And you brought back nothing. Now you must pay."

"No boss, please not that bloody punishment!"

"Don't be so glum," he smiled. "You've proven yourself better at handling slightly more...harmless things rather than harmful. Now I think it's time to send you on something a little less... challenging."

I knew right away what he is gonna say. "No, no don't say it."

"Kitchen duty."

He said it. He said the one job which I absolutely hated doing, even more than I hate my sister an' that's saying something.

"It's that," the boss continued. "Or you serve as Sargent Simons punching bag."

Well, there are worse jobs. Still I almost wanna be a punching bag. Almost. I got on my knees, something Dad told me never to do, but at that point I was desperate. "I swear I almost had him, if that purple hedgehog didn't get in the way-"

"Wait!" the boss interrupted. Even enough he's clothed, I could tell I captured his interest. "Tell me more about this 'purple hedgehog."

I grinned, more eager than I've ever been in my life.


	6. Hedgehog and Fox For Hire

One day...

07:29am, Tuesday

Loud snores filled the rooms of the Chaotix Detective Agency. Espio and Charmy are already awake but Vector, their boss, is still sound asleep on the couch in the living room. The source of the snores. Out of all the members of the agency, Vector is by far the laziest. While Espio gets up earlier than even Charmy, Vector gets up until noon, sometimes later than that. He even woke up at three in the afternoon once.

Espio was meditating quietly in a corner while Charmy was playing on his 3DS, the volume down to silent. Charmy hated playing his games like that. He likes hearing the beeps and boops from his game, the sound of people clashing with one another, and especially the voices. Charmy enjoys knocking people back and hearing an oof! as a reward.

But he can't turn up the volume in the mornings because 'Vector needs his beauty sleep' as Espio told him. Charmy complains that he sleeps too long and Vector needs to get up and play with him. Besides, Vector is not getting any prettier.

Charmy snickers to himself. Vector? Pretty? Not a chance. Charmy can't even imagine how Vector would look if he were prettier. Not that he ever will be anyway. Nope no way Vector could ever be pretty. Or is it handsome? Could someone really become pretty if they got just enough sleep?

The bee shrugs as he resumes playing his game. Eyes concentrating, thumbs flying over the A and B buttons, Charmy fought his way through the levels, punching bad guys, kicking open doors. This is the life. If only Charmy could hear what the bad guys and the monsters are saying. Ugh. Vector better wake up soon...

Brrrinnngg! Brrinnnggg!

"I got it! I got it!" Charmy saw his chance and sprang up. He buzzed over to the agency's old fashioned telephone, snatched up the phone and said, "Hiya, thanks for callin' the Chaotix Detective Agency! Do you prefer paper or plastic-"

The chameleon snatched the phone from Charmy's small hands and placed the phone to his ear... wherever that was. "Hello this is Espio the Chameleon. I apologize for the inconvenience. How can the Chaotix Detective Agency assist you? Hmmm-mmm. I see. Come over to the Agency at around noon today and we'll discuss this possibility. Hmmm-mmm. Okay. Farewell for now."

As Espio hung up, Charmy flew over. "Well? Who was it?"

Espio takes a deep breath. "That caller wishes to work here with us."

"Wow, really?!" Charmy got excited from hearing that. He half flew half jumped up and down. "Who's coming? Who's coming?"

Espio raises his hand. "First off, keep your voice down. Vector is still asleep."- Charmy groans- "Second, I do not know her name-yes the caller is a girl- or why she wants to work. All I know is that she and a eight year old fox wish to work with us. I told her to come at noon today so we can ask her questions."

"Do they like video games?" the bee interjects.

"I do not know. I did not ask her."

"Can I ask if them when they come?"

"If you must." Espio let out a sigh.

Charmy cheered and flew all over the little room. "Yippee! Yippee! Wait til I tell Vector!"

Before Espio can open his mouth to quiet the bee, Vector himself appeared at the doorway, his sleep-filled eyes blinking. He yawned and stretched. Espio glared in Charmy's direction.

"Hiya guys," the crocodile greeted them. "What'd I miss?"

10:45am

Espio explained everything to Vector about the phone call and the unknown girls. Vector declared clean-up day and they just now finished. The crew laid on the couch, sweat glistening from all the hard work, their arms slightly sore from all the cleaning.

"I'm gonna take a shower, I smell!" Vector announced, getting to his feet abruptly.

"How can you smell? You do not sweat" the chameleon pointed out.

"Just because I'm a crocodile doesn't mean I never smell," Vector replies, making his way to the bathroom.

Before he could enter he remembers what he wants to tell his team mates. "I am in charge of the interview," Vector declares. "So whatever I say goes, got it? I'll ask'em the questions and you two record the answers."

"Why can't I do the interview?" Charmy whines.

"Because yer too young to be askin' professional questions," Vector replied impatiently. "If ye wanna ask the girls questions they have to be good questions like, 'tell me about yerself', 'are ye willing to work hard for the job yeh want' or even 'any medical complications'"-

"That's illegal," Espio spoke up.

Vector freezes. "What?"

"Asking personal questions is illegal. It has nothing to do with the job and the interviewee will not be comfortable answering them," explained the chameleon.

"Illegal?" inquired Charmy. "Ya mean we could get arrested if we ask them these sorts of questions?"

"Yeah," Vector answered. "That's what illegal means. Wait a moment."

"What?" the friends asked.

"Aren't we in America?"

"We are in Station Square," the chameleon answers. "What difference does it make?"

"I mean think about it; we're on a large continent with lots o'people living in cities or country sides. Isn't that America?"

"Perhaps."

"We have a president."

"Yes."

"We negotiate with lots o'small countries."

"Yes."

"We are considered a world power according to most countries."

"Yes."

"So we're America," Vector finishes. "Problem solved."

"But guys," Charmy speaks up. "What is America?" The bee understood nothing from the conversation.

"Yes, Vector," Espio joins in. "What is America?"

"You don't even know?"

"Do you?"

Silence.

"Let's...forget we talked about this," an embarrassed Vector says.

Espio and Charmy agree.

11:55am

Espio checks his invisible watch-long story- for the one hundredth time. He is nervous. The ninja took deep breaths to calm himself down, then glanced over at the door. Nothing. I do not understand he thought. I have always been the cool, calm and collected one. Not to mention the brains of the team. Why am I so worried about new people coming in to possibly officially join our group?

It is easy to get used to a small group of people the ninja decided. There used to be more people in the Agency; however they quit either because they had something important they had to do and could no longer be a part of the Agency or they rediscovered their old passions and wanted to pursue their dreams. Now it was just Espio, Charmy and Vector, the three of them working hard to keep the Agency rolling with money to pay for bills. Having new members coming is a new experience for the three of them. The fact that the members are girls is a bonus to the new experience. Not that the chameleon minded anyway.

"Ding dong! Ding dong!" a chorus of voices hollered from outside, interrupting his thoughts.

Espio opened the door, and saw a purple hedgehog and a black fox in the doorway, wearing their casual clothes, with shorts and button down polios. The hedgehog wore a lavender polio while the fox wore a gray one. The fox grinned from ear to ear while the purple hedgehog shot her a look.

"Let me ring the doorbell next time," she informed the fox, not noticing Espio standing right in front of them.

"They're here! They're here!" Charmy's acute hearing picked up the noise. He buzzed over to the front entrance.

The hedgehog and the fox jumped back a bit, hearing Charmy's loud buzzing. One look from Espio and Charmy quieted himself, flying away from the front door. The chameleon turned to the girls They both recovered their shock. At least somewhat.

"I apologize on behalf of Charmy's behavior," the chameleon said. "He is-"

"BIG NEEEWWWWSSS!" howled Vector's voice from up the stairs.

Espio turns to the girls seriously and mouths "Hide."

The girls ran over to a nearby coffee table, got under it, and covered their heads with their hands. "What is that?" the fox whispered to her friend.

"I dunno," Sam whispered back, wishing with all her heart that whoever was making all the racket would just-

Then Sam realized that the noise Vector was making ceased. The room became absolutely silent; not a word was heard from anyone. The hedgehog peeked her head out slowly, turning from side to side. The coast seemed clear. She motioned for the fox to come out. As soon as they did, a large snout greeted them.

The hedgehog squeaked, grabbed her friend by the arm and crawled as fast as she could to get away, only to be meet Vector once more.

"Wanna work with us?" he asks in his grin.

12:05pm

Espio calmed Vector down then apologized again to the girls about Vector's AND Charmy's behavior. Espio explained how Vector and Charmy get excited easily and adding caffeine to his excitement can really make them bounce off the walls. That's the real reason why we do not get new members the ninja decided. The girls forgave them regardless.

"I'm used to dealing with people like him," Sam told the trio. "I especially got used to it when I met Flower." She gave the fox-Flower- a meaningful glance. Flower returned the smile.

"And you are..." Vector kept the conversation going.

"Sam," the hedgehog extended her hand. "Sam the Hedgehog."

"And I'm Flower Fox!" Flower added.

The group shook hands, exchanged introductions and took their seats on the couch. At least Vector took the couch; everyone else sat on whatever seat was available. Espio and Charmy got out their notebooks and pencils, ready to listen. Vector cleared his throat and began.

"So, uh, yeh girls wanna work with the Agency?"

Both the girls nodded.

"Do yeh have any prior experience with working with the law?" the interview began.

"No," Sam replied.

"Are ye good at solving complex problems and puzzles?"

"No," Flower answers.

"Do ye have keen sight, hearing, smell, and taste?"

"No," Sam says.

"On a scale of one to ten, how focused are ye when it comes ta completing a task?"

"Three," Sam replied.

"Zero!" Flower answered proudly.

"You're hired!" Vector stood up triumphantly, papers scattering in every direction.

Espio almost chokes on his own spit. "WHAT?!" he shouted. He knows that Vector is not exactly the brightest but he is certainly not that dumb.

Everyone gave him a startled look. "Sumthing wrong, Es?" the crocodile questions.

The chameleon regained his composure. Taking a deep breath he says, "Vector, can I talk to you in the kitchen? Now."

Vector shrugs and follows Espio, leaving Sam, Flower and Charmy alone.

"Do you guys like to play video games?" Charmy could not contain his curiosity any longer.

"Heck yeah I do!" Sam grinned.

"Me too! Me too!" Flower excitedly yells, jumping in her seat.

Charmy's smile could not be any wider. "Finally some playmates!" he cheered.

Sam and Flower joined right in. The three grouped up, high-fiving each other. An applause of slaps and giggles echoed throughout the room, the three becoming friends instantly. They suddenly stop, falling to the ground laughing.

"Let's go play!" Charmy initiates his long-waited playdate.

He races up the stairs with the girls not too far off Charmy's trail.

12:06pm

The three barely began their video game time when Espio and Vector come into the room. The trio's eyes fell upon the older two.

"Congratulations! You two are now a part of the Chaotix Detective Agency," Vector's loud voice boomed in the room, his arms stretched out so he could hug the new members who happily obliged.

"Yes," Espio chimed in, his soft calm voice in contrast with Vector's. "Welcome to the Agency."

"So are we gonna solve mysteries and stuff?" Flower asked Vector.

Vector chuckled a bit. "Nah, not yet. Not until we get a call from a client. Also we have a policy of excepting jobs that pay and pay well. Otherwise we won't take it."

"Sounds fair," Sam agrees.

"I thought so. Anyway, Es and I are gonna go run sum errands, so you guys can just chill if ya want."

"Why does Espio have to come?" Charmy questions.

"Let us just say Vector and I need some guy time," the chameleon replied. "Do not assume we forgot about the two of you; these errands are important."

Vector and Espio exited the room, walked down the stairs then opened the front door. "We'll be back in a few!" Vector calls as the door slams, once again leaving the three friends alone in the Agency.

"So..." Sam began.

"So what?" Flower asks.

"Nothing, I just hate awkward silences."

Charmy, anxious to do something, broke in. "You guys wanna play video games?"

Sam was about to answer when an idea struck her. "Hang on guys," she said. "I have a better idea."

1:11pm

Amy Rose hummed to herself as she strolled throughout the mall, her hands snatched whatever her eyes spotted first. She was in a good mood. Suddenly her cell phone rang out singing her theme song "My Sweet Passion." Amy's eyes lit up. I hope it is who I think it is she thought, though she could care less on who was calling her; as long as Eggman wasn't calling her, she did not care. She picked her phone like a delicate berry and put it on her shoulder.

"Hello?" her cheerful voice rang.

"Hello Amy. It's me," said a strange voice.

Amy stopped in her tracks. "Who is this?"

"It's me, Sonic," the voice replied.

"Sonic?" Amy echoed uncertainly. No it can't be him.

"I have to say Amy, I am a bit lonely," continued 'Sonic'. "In fact, I wanna go on a date with you. Today."

Amy's eyes widened. "Oh my God, really?!" If that really is Sonic, Amy's dream is just about to come true.

"Yep," the voice confirmed. "Meet me at the Burger Shop at around one-thirty." With that, 'Sonic' hung up, leaving Amy beyond excited. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod were her thoughts as she skipped to the checkout line. Sonic finally asked me out! I thought this day would never come! But wait. Amy skidded to a stop as she realized something: she had to pay for the items that were randomly grabbed without a second thought. She quickly counted the items in her cart. Thirty-one. Amy smiled wickedly as she got out a credit card labelled Christopher Thorndyke. Problem solved.

1:18pm

Rouge the Bat was in the G.U.N breakroom, eating her lunch. Today she brought a ham and cheese sandwich, spinach that was no bigger than the size of her palm, and a water bottle. Rouge ate slowly, savouring the taste of her perfectly healthy lunch. Then her cell phone rang. She flipped the top of open. "Hello." her smooth voice purred.

"Hey babe, it's me, Knuckles the Echidna," a strange voice said, like a female trying to make her voice sound deeper.

This is not Knuckie Rouge knew. But I guess I'll play along anyway. "Hiya Knuckie, how's it going?"

"Not so good," 'Knuckles' replied. "I'm not spending time with the most beautiful woman I know."

"I could fix it for you," the bat offered, still playing along. Whoever was imitating Knuckles was doing a good job. If it's not convincing, it's at least interesting.

"That'd be great," 'Knuckles' jumped on the offer. "Wanna meet me at Angel Island say, when you get outta work?"

"Sounds perfect." Rouge liked where this was going, even if this wasn't really Knuckles.

"I'll bring the Master Emerald just for you."

Rouge gasped as the caller hung up. Beeeeeeppppppp went her cell phone as Rouge pressed END with her thumb. Rouge resumed with her lunch, eating much slower than usual.

2:02pm in a different part of the Agency

Shadow the Hedgehog sat in front of his computer, sipping his coffee. He's been typing at that thing for nearly two and a half hours, and so far nothing interesting happened. Stupid work, stupid job. he grumbled. I wish I were home right now. Suddenly the phone, which was right beside his computer, rang. What now? He angrily sighed as he picked up the phone and put it on his shoulder. "What?"

"Is your refrigerator running?" a high-pitched voice asked.

"Who is this?!" the grumpy hedgehog yelled. When he heard laughter at the other end, he grew furious. "Whoever you are, I will track you down and find you!"

"He's still on the phone!" a teenager's voice breathed out.

"Darn right I'm on the phone! You better hope that I don't start with your-" Whoever called Shadow hung up before Shadow could really let it out. Shadow swore then stopped when he noticed that a bunch of co workers were giving him funny looks. The hedgehog grabbed his coffee, sniffed the aroma then made a face. "Wait a moment. I hate coffee!" He tossed it at a nearby co worker, brown liquid splattering not only his uniform but also his computer.

"You better hope that your yearly salary will be able to pay this off jerk!"

3:23pm

"Boy, we've had the most craziest cases!" Vector exclaimed as he and Espio strolled through aisle after aisle. Vector threw item after item into the cart while Espio pushed the cart beside the crocodile.

"We had have some unique cases," the chameleon agrees effortlessly dodging the other shoppers' carts.

"Those were sum good times," the crocodile said wistfully.

"Agreed- huh?" Espio immediately halted in his tracks, causing Vector to bump into the cart. He gave Vector an apologetic look and pointed to a window on the other side of the store.

The two dashed over to the window and stood in front of it. They can see the streets and various stores and restaurants. Directly outside stood Amy with her back to them. Her body shook slightly as though she were crying. The two detectives were out of the store in a heartbeat, at Amy's side, the cart forgotten for now.

"Amy, are you alright?" Vector asks.

Amy glowered at the two, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "Do I look alright?!" she demanded.

"Well, um," Vector stammered. Thankfully for him, Espio took over.

"What happened?"

Amy's head dropped to the ground. "Sonic he-he said that he wanted to go on a date with me, b-b-but he never showed up!" Amy cried, crushing her handkerchief in her fist. The tears stained the ground. "How can he be so cruel!" she went on. "He said he was lonely and wanted company- MY company and he just goes a-and smashes my heart as if I were n-n-nothing!"

"Calm down," Espio spoke gently to her. Amy could never hate Sonic, everyone knew it. Whatever Sonic did really upset her, but Sonic would never do something as selfishly as that. Something weird was going on and the two had to figure out what. "Are you certain that was really Sonic?"

Amy stopped crying for a moment as she recalled on the previous events that happened from earlier. "He...sounded stranger than usual. But I never thought anything of it since Sonic does sound like that whenever he makes a call to someone."

"Oh," Vector said. "That makes- Wait how d'yeh know that?"

Amy shrugs. "I dunno but Sonic's about to meet my special friend!" Amy's eyes quickly switched to anger as her hammer appeared out of nowhere.

"Now wait just a moment," the calm ninja touched Amy's shoulder and Amy put the hammer away and gave Espio a confused look in return. "I think I know what happened."

4:02pm

Vector and Espio returned home, carrying more than a few groceries in their hands. They stood before the door, the laughter inside the tiny house seemed to shake the Agency like an earthquake. Vector and Espio heard Charmy bellow with laughter as though he witnessed someone slipping over a banana peel. All their laughter sounded...innocent. Very loud definitely but also innocent.

"Are ya sure yeh know whodunit?" Vector inquired his friend. Espio has a good head on his shoulders, Vector knows, but even someone like Espio can be wrong. Everyone is wrong sometimes. The three sounded like they are having fun; no way could they be doing anything wrong.

Before Vector can say what is on his mind, the ninja opens the door to...absolute chaos. There was trash all over the floor from cans to candy wrappers. Dirt colored the furniture, shoes, clothes and socks were everywhere. As far as the friends could see there was not an inch of the area clean. So much for cleaning day the ninja mused. Then the crocodile and the chameleon noticed the three friends in the corner at the far end of the Agency was Sam, Flower, and Charmy all lounging near the phone, laughing their butts off.

"Ahem." Vector clears his throat.

As soon as he did, the laughter terminated, their eyes widen in shock at the sight of the older two. Flower dropped the phone, prank call forgotten. They were caught red-handed and now, they were in big trouble.

4:05pm

Sam, Flower and Charmy took turns telling their story on how they've been prank calling lots of people throughout Station Square using the phone book. The prank callers spoke timidly and with shame, Sam being the most shameful. Finally all three stopped speaking altogether, awaiting their well-deserved punishments.

After a long moment, Vector spoke. "It seems ta me that you guys weren't really thinking this whole thing through. Ye guys just went 'head and did it with no second thought. Ye didn't think of the consequences, the people you are hurtin'. Nope-" Vector shook his head, - "Ye guys were bored so yeh went and did yerselves a lota good. Lota good." Vector mutters that last statement under his breath.

The three dipped their heads in shame, fully tasting the unpleasantness of the lecture. Espio stood by a corner, his eyes shut, but the three knew he is listening; it would be unlike him not to observe in the action. Plus Espio is waiting for the moment to interject in case the crocodile's behavior comes out of control.

When Vector stops talking long enough for a pause, Flower yells. "It was Sam's idea!" she shouts. "She should be receiving the punishments, not us!"

Sam narrowed her eyes at the fox. "So much for a sister friendship with you." she mutters.

"I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED IT!" Vector burst out. He let his anger out at the three friends who were startled by the outburst and that the fact they are being yelled at. "ALL OF YOU TOOK PART IN THIS THING AND NOW YOU THREE ARE-"

Espio waves his hand over to Vector. "Vector!" he called out. Vector shushed then Espio says, "Allow me."

Nodding, Vector made way for the chameleon so he can talk to the three. "Did you know," he began. "that Vector and I ran into a person who was deeply affected by your behavior?" When the three shook their heads, Espio continues. "That person was Amy. She seemed deeply upset that her hero Sonic would ask her out then never show up. Amy did not realize she was being prank called and therefore became despaired when this happened."

Sam's eyes widened. She was only trying to entertain herself, she did not mean to hurt Amy's feelings, or anyone's for that matter. A wave of guilt slapped Sam as she thought of all the people she prank called. Images of their expressions varied from annoyance to sorrow. "I-I didn't mean too." she stammered, shaking her head. "You can...fire me if you want, just don't...fire my friends." Sam spoke slowly, as if every word hurt Sam's throat getting the words out. The hedgehog wished she were anywhere but here.

"We cannot do that," Vector spoke suddenly, spinning his chair to face them once more. "Ye guys took part in all o'this so you are fired."

"Even me?" cried Charmy.

"Not this time," Vector responds. "But go on over to yer room and we'll think on what ta do with yeh."

Nobody even bothered arguing seeing that there was no way out of it. Charmy's buzzes were much quieter than usual as he flew up the stairs to his room. Sam and Flower lowered their heads in shame as they dragged their feet out of the Agency, not daring to look back.

4:22pm

Sam and Flower remained silent all the way on the way to the mansion. They went straight to the room they shared and plopped on their own bed. The two friends sighed as they both sat up. After a moment Sam spoke. "Y'know, I was never cut out to work anyways."

"Me neither," Flower agrees.

"I guess we're better off unemployed."

"Maybe."

Sam gave her a suspicious look. "Do you actually agree with me or are you just agreeing to agree?"

Flower shrugged. "I dunno."

Sam let out a small laugh which encouraged Flower to laugh too. Being fired from a job never felt this good.

4:59pm

Vector was just coming down the stairs to a mediating Espio; he just had a talk with Charmy and told him his punishment. Charmy is not allowed to play video games or come near the phone for a week. That sounded like a decent punishment for him, considering what happened. They couldn't just fire him; without Charmy, how else would the team reach the high places? Plus Charmy is too young to be kicked out in the streets; that's pretty harsh treatment for someone his age. It is illegal as well.

"Vector," Espio spoke suddenly.

Vector jumped a foot in the air. "Don't scare me like that!"

"My apologizes," Espio replies, not opening his eyes. "I want to inform you that I have been looking at the phone history that our pranksters made."

"Really?" Vector exclaims. "Good o'Es, always one step ahead of even me!" Vector laughed for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "So, whaddya find?"

"They have called various numbers throughout the city in random homes," the chameleon reports. "And they called the G.U.N Agency twice."

"Is that all?" Vector scratches his head. He was expecting for the three to make more phone calls than that.

"Yes," Espio replies evenly. "They've called a total of fifty-five people using up at least thirty minutes on the phone."

"Aaawwww!" Vector groaned at the mention of bills. "Not our minutes! Don't they know we need that phone? How are we gonna pay this off!"

Before Vector could say a word, the door comes crashing against the wall, splinters flying everywhere, making the already dirty Agency into an even filthier one. In the doorway stood a figure known as Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Like playing pranks, huh?" he asks as he invited himself in the building. "Well, you'll definitely like my prank."

Vector and Espio, who quit mediating long enough to see what was going on, backed away from Shadow as though he were a rain cloud. Shadow went over to the phone, picked it off its' receiver and said, "Ring ring ring. Hello? What's this? The phone's perfectly fine? Well let me fix it for you Mr. Repairman!"

With that Shadow curled his hand into a fist, smashing the helpless phone until it was nothing but bits of scarp. He destroyed the phone so quickly that neither Vector nor Espio had enough time to stop him. When the hedgehog finished, he glared at the two; he is not finished yet. "Now to ensure you pranksters learned your lesson..." Shadow removed his inhibitor rings, the rings falling to the ground with a tiny ding! as Shadow powered up.

Vector and Espio turned to each other, knowing looks of how bad things are getting. "Es, do something!" Vector cried.

The chameleon disappeared out of sight. "I'll find Charmy while you distract him," he whispered.

"WHAT?!" Vector howled. "That's the worst plan ever!"

"Good luck," Espio said.

"Don't ya-" Vector was cut off with a punch to the face. He slammed against the wall, his head vibrating with shock.

One fight later

Vector groaned as he sat up, awaking his forced sleep. He found Espio at his side, unconscious. "Es," he whispered, shaking him. "Es, wake up."

Espio opened his eyes. "Wha...what happened?" he asked.

"Ye didn't...abandon me?" the confused crocodile said.

"I would never abandon you," the chameleon spoke softly. "Nor would I abandon anyone. I actually returned to assist you in the fight. I found Charmy," the chameleon went on. "I hid him in a closet, told him to stay quiet then I tried to reason with Shadow. He wouldn't listen so I fought and..." He winced as though the pain caught up to him. "I am okay though," he said. "We just need to call Charmy and have him and someone else get us both the hospital."

"Aaawww!" Vector groaned once more. "Not the hospital bill!"

"Look on the bright side. At least we are no longer in debt of the phone bill."

I like how this story came out. I find it very funny. I hope I did a good job with the Chaotix characters and their personalities. Anyway QOTS: What do you think of Sam and Flower?


	7. Damsels in Action

One day...

"Remind me again why we are here in this god forsaken place?" Sam the Hedgehog asks Amy Rose.

Amy whirls around, eying Sam annoyed. "This 'god forsaken place' is one of the best places in the entire world. Relax, live a little you'll have a lot of fun."

"Not here," the grumpy hedgehog replied. "Anywhere but here. How'd you guys get me to come anyways?"

Earlier

"Come on Sam, please!" Flower begged, jumping at her side.

"No," the hedgehog refused as she turned her back to Flower.

Flower frowned at her. Then she had an idea. "If you won't come to the mall, I've got a secret weapon that will make you," the young fox spoke in a singsong voice.

"Oh?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'd like to see you-" she was cut short when the fox was suddenly front of her, eyes fully widened, pupils as big and large as possible. The pupils shimmered in pure innocence. She stared directly into Sam's eyes. Sam, mesmerized at Flower's eyes, tried to speak. "Flow-"

"Go to the mall with us," Flower softly commanded Sam.

Present

"Oh yeah," Sam recalled. She sent a glare to Flower who smiled. "You and your 'secret weapon'"

Flower shrugged. "It works on just about anyone."

"I'd bet money on that one," Sam scoffs.

"We can't, we're at the mall," Flower points out.

"Come on," Sam urged her. "A little money won't-"

"Oh my God!" Amy suddenly yells interrupting the purple hedgehog.

Sam sighed. "Sale on shoes?" she guessed sarcastically.

Amy, not sensing the sarcasm, squealed. "Tarot cards! On sale! It's been like, forever sine I saw them! I've gotta get them!" Amy ran off like a hyperactive kid toward the magic shop where things were off by twenty percent.

Sam and Flower had to run to catch up to her and by the time they did, Amy already had some in her possession. Some people shot her glares for her over the top behavior. Sam and Flower smiled sheepishly at them in apology on Amy's behalf. The grumpy customers glared at the two, shrugged and then left. Amy gazed at her new prizes; tarot cards, a crystal ball and a bunch of jewelled rings. "Oh my God, Sam and Flower look at them!" She held the purchased items out so the two can see. Sam stood in the back of the shop, unwilling to see the cards. Sam had nothing against anything with fortunes and whatnot; she just did not care for them.

Flower wanted to know about the cards so Amy chattered happily with her. They both seemed so happy, so excited about being here in one of the best places in the world according to most females: the mall, another Sam does not care for. Now I know how the boyfriends feel she thought. Well since Sam is here, she might as well try and have fun. After all, it's been about three years since Sam had last been there but that was only because she needed some supplies and the mall was the only store closest to her at that time.

After her trip into the mall, she swore she would never come back again. That is until a certain fox decided to use her 'puss in boots' eyes to convince Sam otherwise. If that was able to convince Sam, then it is definitely enough to convince a lot of people. Sam wondered who it could convince: Knuckles? Probably. Sonic? He can't resist a little girl so yes, definitely. Amy? Yes. Shadow? Maybe. Sam rumpled her face as she thought.

"HELLOOO THERE!" a high-pitched female voice-not Amy or Flower- interrupted her train of thought.

Sam gasped as she jumped nearly a foot on the air. Once Sam landed on the ground, she whirled around and glared at her. "What the-" it was then Sam noticed the woman for the first time.

The woman is six foot one with a plain white button down shirt and a black skirt that came to her knees. She also wore a hat with a flower at the side and had goggles, sunglasses? It was hard to tell because her red-orange hair bangs blocked her view of her face. The woman wore black flats that looked they were made to fit clowns; the shoes are that big. The woman smiled a somehow familiar smile that made Sam wince at an unknown memory-and by unknown she meant she experienced the memory but can't remember at the moment. the woman wore a name tag on the right side of her chest that said "Hello my name is Dolores Hampton."

Dolores went on. "I apologize for scaring you like that but I can't help but notice you're not having fun."

"You call that a reason to just appear out of nowhere!" the hedgehog exclaimed, wishing she could punch the woman in the face and get away with it. If the woman weren't so tall that is.

"Well it's my job," Dolores replied. "Looking for lost children and ensuring everyone has fun no matter the location!"

The way Dolores's voice sounded when she talked sounded annoying like she is trying to keep her voice as high-pitched as possible; if it weren't for the fact that Sam has a high tolerance for any high pitched noises, she would run as fast as she could away from her screaming her head off. Regardless Sam tried to be polite. "Thanks but we don't need any help, especially if it's help having fun."

Before Hampton could say anything, an excited pink hedgehog and an equally energetic black fox appeared at Dolores's side. "Oh my God are you one of those new agents in the mall?"

Hampton frowned. "One of what agents?"

"You know, the agents that goes into random stores and randomly picks people to pamper for an entire day?" Amy's green eyes glimmered in pure hope.

Dolores thought for a moment on this before finally saying "As a matter of fact, I am."

"Really?!" Amy exclaimed.

"Really," Hampton nods. "And the three of you are lucky for that reason."

Amy and Flower sprang from the walls in their excitement. They cheered. "We're totally gonna get-"

"SSSSHHHHHH!" hissed the agent as heads began to turn. "Keep your voices down," Dolores whispered. "We, the agents, have to be discrete in order for the competition to be fair. If the people knew exactly who we are, then they will stop at nothing to ensure that they keep on getting the free treatment. And we don't want that, do we?"

"No," the three replied.

Dolores got to her feet then motioned for the three to follow her. Amy and Flower followed her eagerly while Sam stood back a few feet. Who is she? Sam wondered. Something about her seemed familiar to Sam but she couldn't put her finger on it. With a sigh- and a silent vow to keep her eye on Dolores- she went off after her over eager friends.

After a bit of walking, they encountered a small tent the size of a one story house. And it was right in the middle of the mall. How did I not notice it before? Sam asked herself.

As though reading her mind, Dolores answered for her. "If you are wondering about the tent, that's only because we set it up early this morning. We are only just practising this new policy today. Now come on in-" she motioned for the girls to enter the tent- "and we'll give you the pampering you deserve!"

With minor cheering , the hedgehogs and fox entered only to be greeted by two robots who were poorly clothed in a dresses. One robot was tall and gold while the other was silver and stout. They grinned. Flower looked over at them suspiciously; she felt a strange feeling she had seen them from before.

"Um, excuse me," Flower timidly spoke up.

Dolores looks over to the fox. "Yes?"

"Why do you have robots?"

"Yeah, why do you have robots?" Sam joined in.

"Because every good sensible woman needs her helpers, regardless of who the helpers are," Dolores ended the discussion as quickly as it started. For some reason, Dolores didn't want to talk about it. This only made Sam more weary of her than before. Meanwhile the robots took action.

"Hello ladies how are you today? the silver robot, Bocoe, asked.

"I was going to ask them!" the gold robot, Decoe yelled.

"Well I asked already," Bocoe pointed out.

"STOP!" howled Dolores in a man's voice.

Everyone, including the bickering robots, whirled over to her with surprised expressions on their faces. Dolores's eyes widened for a moment then spoke once more in her usual high-pitched voice.

"Oh ho silly me," she laughed. "That was sort of out there..." She trailed off before remembering something, "Let's go and get your makeovers!"

Ms. Hampton snapped her fingers and the robots swept the three girls in rolling chairs, riding them in nearby rooms and separate from each other.

-OOO-

An hour and a half later, the girls reappear from the tent in long dresses. Amy wore a pink dress that had red ribbons all around the bottom, pink high heels and long white gloves that went to her elbows. Flower wore a peacock dress with fake peacock feathers spread out in the back. She wore peacock purple and green gloves that only came to her wrists and wore black flats. Sam wore a dark purple dress that was five inches below her knees. She had sandals the same color as her dress, gloves and a necklace that had a violet heart at the end. All three of the girls had make-up that matched their dresses. The robots had done a good job doing the makeover.

Amy swished her hips from side to side, admiring how the dress looked when it moved.

"Oh my God this is so awesome!" She gleefully said. "Dolores and the robots… okay mostly the robots… did a really great job!"

"Uh-huh." Sam and Flower agreed, mimicking Amy's actions.

Normally Sam didn't enjoy getting a makeover, but today was an exception; it wasn't everyday someone just willingly pampered you from head to toe. And yes, the robots painted their nails too. Sam felt like someone peeled off her old skin and replaced it with a new sort of skin. It was refreshing, and Sam liked it.

Dolores clapped her hands to get the girls' attention, "So how were the makeovers?"

"Great!"

"Wonderful!" Dolores sounded just as happy as the girls, "Feel free to walk around the mall for a bit and meet me outside of the Claire's shop. You know, the one by the water fountain."

"Gotcha," Amy replies. "Now let's go and get something to eat!"

"For sure." the other two agreed once more and were off, leaving Dolores in the dust.

A few minutes later, the girls arrive at the food court where lots and lots of salespeople tried selling their food products to the various hungry customers. It was around lunchtime so the lines to the food courts were unusually long. Sam glared at the lines.

"Why are there lines?" Sam groaned, "Why do they even exist?"

"Lines stink," Flower agreed, "I wish lines will go away from the face of the Earth. And carrots."

"Why carrots?"

"I hate carrots."

"Oh," Sam returned as she could see quite clearly Flower's distaste in carrots, "What say you Amy?"

Amy doesn't answer.

"Amy? Amy where are you?" Sam called, and then turned to Flower, "Go look for Amy." She then began glancing worriedly at the crowds.

"Sam I found Amy!" Flower says a moment later.

"Where?"

Flower points over to the line to Papa John's where Amy scooted various people out of the lines so she can get in the front. Angry protests followed Amy's feet while Sam and Flower stood close to the line, waiting for Amy to come out of the line. When she finally did, Sam confronted her.

"Why are you acting like a jerk to these people?" She demanded.

"Because I'm famous," Amy replied smugly.

Sam was about to yell at her when Amy went on.

"The robots said that one of the reasons we're getting the special treatment is because we're friends of Sonic."

"So, just because we're friends with Sonic, that automatically means we can just be jerks whenever we want?" Sam growled in anger.

Amy got in Sam's face, "Sonic is not just any person you know!"

"Sonic is just like any person!" Sam spat back, "He's 'different' because everyone considers him a hero! You think otherwise and now it's stuck in your head!"

The two bickered while Flower took several steps away from the hedgehogs, backing away to the girl's bathroom.

"I better leave them alone for a bit…" The fox decided.

She kept backing away from the angry environment until her back reached a stall. The stall was open so Flower slipped right in with no problem at all. She sat herself on the toilet, making sure the dress did not touch the water or floor. The cleaner the dress, the better.

As Flower sat, she thought about Tails. She barely knew the fox for a week and already took a liking to him. Flower did not know what about Tails she like but she knew that she liked him. This was the ultimate reason Flower doesn't want to dirty the dress; so she could impress Tails with it. But the twin-tailed fox was so nice and non-judgemental, that there was no doubt that he would like Flower just as she was. That's how life should work, right?

Flower hummed happily as she daydreamed of Tails' and her marriage. She would be in a wedding dress and Tails in a groom's outfit. Sam will be the minister and Cream the flower girl. Everyone will come and it would be such a happy time.

A knock on the stall door interrupted her happy musings.

"Yes?" Flower asked.

No one answered.

Flower frowned and was about to sit herself down when a large claw crashed through the wall, bits of the wall scattering across the floor. Flower barely had time to scream as the claw scooped her upward, leaving a peacock feather in the place where Flower Fox once stood.

-OOO-

"Where's Flower?" Sam suddenly asked, interrupting the argument.

"What do you mean 'Where's Flower'? Don't you care what I have to-" Amy was cut off with a swift slap to the face.

Her cheek turned bright red, but before she can let Sam have it, she looked over to her right and saw that Flower was nowhere in sight.

"Where IS Flower?" Amy echoed the question.

Sam resisted the urge to slap Amy again, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go find her."

Sam and Amy searched throughout the food courts and the lines. No sign of her anywhere. They looked in a nearby toy store to see if Flower accidentally wondered in there. Still no sign. They even went over to the water fountain where Dolores Hampton waited for them. Even still, no Flower.

"Where can she be?" Sam asked herself.

"Is something the matter girls?" The concerned woman asked.

"Flower's gone missing!" Sam exclaimed.

"The little black fox?"

"Yes!"

"Well this is a problem."

"Well duh!" Amy burst, "Whatever you have in mind for us Dolores will have to wait until we find our friend."

Dolores thoughtfully caressed her chin then said, "Don't worry my dears, I know exactly where Flower is."

"Really?" Relief soared throughout Sam's and Amy's bodies as Sam replied, "Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"Just follow me," Hampton said as the girls obeyed.

They follow Dolores out of the mall into the parking lot. Wait… why would Flower leave Sam and Amy to go to the parking lot? A better question would be why would Dolores lead the girls out there? Sam and Amy exchanged confused looks with one another. Before one of them could speak up, Dolores shoved the two in an open sports car, closing the door then locking it. Suddenly a claw reappeared out of the sky, grabbing the sports car with the two girls in it. The girls looked at where the claw was coming from and noticed the over looming shadow of the Egg Carrier; and they were heading right for it.

This happened so quickly that Sam and Amy had no time to escape from the clutches of the claw and soon found themselves on the main bridge of the Egg Carrier. The hatch from where the claw came out of had closed and a giant jar closed swallowed the sports car. Sam and Amy escaped the sports car too late; they were already prisoners of the jar.

Dolores suddenly came into their view along with the two robots that helped with their makeovers.

"Hello, girls," The woman grinned evilly.

"Wait," Amy realized, "I know that grin."

Her suspicion was confirmed in a blink of an eye when Dolores removed her hair revealing a bald head, goggles where the eyes should be and a long orange moustache.

"It is I, the glorious genius you all know and loathe, Doctor Eggman! As for the woman disguise, I felt it was necessary to lure all of you into my trap."

"It was really that necessary to be a woman?" Sam giggled as she clasped her mouth from laughing.

Amy joined in shortly after her.

"Never mind that!" Eggman bellowed, "The point is you are all in my trap and that fool Sonic, yes that Sonic my dear Amy, is going to fall right into it!"

"Didn't you already try this before?" Amy asks.

"Like several times?" Sam added.

"Enough!" The scientist shouted, with his hands in the air, "I've tried it before yes but this time… THIS time… I will succeed! Keep that in mind and don't you forget it!"

"Yeah right," Sam mutters under her breath, too quiet for Eggman to hear.

With that said, Eggman walked out of the exit, leaving the girls alone in a jar with one another. For a few seemingly long minutes, no one moved a muscle. Everyone seemed to be busy looking out at the complex designs on Eggman's walls or at the entrances of the doors.

"Well," Amy broke the silence, "I guess we'll have to wait."

"For what?" Flower asks.

"Until we get rescued by Sonic," Amy replied as she continued to sit there.

Sam sat up immediately.

"What!?" She raged as she glared over at Amy, "Did you not hear what Eggman said?"

When Amy did not answer, Sam went on. "He's using us girl! Using us as bait for Sonic!"

"So?" Amy raised an eyebrow at the violet hedgehog, "Eggman's plans never work. My Sonic manages to save the day; and me when I get captured, so I don't have to anything to free myself."

"How do you know?" Sam demanded, "What if Eggman actually succeeds this time? What if Sonic can't save us for...whatever reason? What if you had the choice to just free yourself? Would you do it?"

"Yes I would," Amy answered evenly, "And when I get out of my prison, I will get out my little friend and kick his butt."

Sam nodded at that, "Yeah! You're fully capable of destroying the jar. The only question is why aren't you doing it?"

Amy stood up, her face reflecting her confidence, "Why didn't I think of this before? I am more than just a mere girl with a large hammer. I am more than a damsel in distress. I am a damsel-"

"In action," Sam finished.

"What?"

"She said a damsel in action," Flower spoke up.

Amy raised an eyebrow, "A damsel in action? Sounds weird, but I like it!"

The girls cheered with one another for a bit before taking action.

"I'll go first," Amy announced as her hammer magically appeared.

Amy slammed her hammer against the glass, only for it to almost bounce back at her like a rubber ball. The girls realized their prison was weapon proof, not a gun or Piko Piko hammer could penetrate through its toughness.

Amy turned around to the girls and muttered "Darn" before returning to her usual spot.

Amy suddenly recalled something, "Sam, you can shape-shift!"

Sam nodded.

"Yes I can!" She replied as she shape-shifted into a whale.

Sam grew bigger and bigger until the glass cracked and shattered with Sam's size. The girls now stood in a room with thousands of sharp shards everywhere. The violet shape-shifter quickly changed back to normal and the girls ran into the door where Eggman had exited earlier before.

They got here just in time to see Sonic fighting several robots, homing attacks here and there while Eggman shouted insults toward him.

Amy blazed with anger, "Now?"

"Now!" Sam declared.

The girls charged through; with Sam shape-shifting into a large black bear, Amy readying her hammer, and Flower flying with her two robotic tails. It did not take long before Eggman noticed them.

"Gaah, how'd you get out of my trap so quickly?" He demanded.

"Sam turned into a whale and broke out for us," Flower announced proudly.

Eggman cackled throughout the room.

"She did?" He asked the fox as she nodded, "Well let's see her shape-shift into a dead hedgehog!"

A bomb appeared in front of Sam but the hedgehog kicked it back before it could detonate. The bomb sailed through the air and closer to Eggman as he frantically ran into another room.

"You haven't seen the last of me," His cries echoed, "I may be down but I'm not out!"

"Yeah right!" Sonic called after him.

The fighting died down as the robots retreated from the main room; all was silent, and the fight was won.

Sonic turned to the girls, "Let's go home."

-Later-

The girls were back in the mansion, recalling and retelling everything that had happened today. An excited Flower had just finished telling her part of the story.

"And then we kicked robotic butt and we lived happy ever after!" She exclaimed happily.

The older two nodded.

"Yep, that was pretty much the tale." Amy agreed as she sat back, "Damsels in action..."

"Better get used to it 'cause we're going to be usin' that from now on," Sam informed her, "When we get captured, we're gonna get out of the situation using our resources and skills. But we'll still be girls."

"That reminds me," Amy carefully interrupted, "How was the mall today?"

Sam scrunched up her face in thought. Before she could answer, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." the girls said in unison.

Tails entered and saw the girls still in dresses.

"Hey girls," He greeted. "How was the mall today?"

"Great!" Amy and Flower exclaimed together as Sam still thought about her answer.

Flower went in front of Tails, swishing her dress slightly to show off the ruffles, "Do you like my dress Tails?"

Tails examined the dress for a moment then nodded in approval.

"I like it," He grinned, "It looks good on you."

Flower squealed at his answer and then jumped with joy. Then suddenly fainted. Tails runs over to check on Flower but Amy stopped him casually.

"She'll be okay," she reassured him, "She's just tired."

Tails nodded then exited the room. Amy looked over to Sam.

"So...do you like the mall?"

Sam stopped scrunching her face then finally replied.

"No, not really." She answered, "But..."

She looked meaningfully over to Flower.

"With you and Flower, it'll always be interesting."

QOTS Can you imagine Sonic talking in Shakespearean language? Why/why not?


	8. I am Rouge the Great and Beautiful

One day...

Rouge the bat sat in Starbucks by a window overlooking the various mini stores clustered together like sardines in a can; and she is bored. Normally the bat would sit near the noisiest crowded place in the restaurant, but today all the chattering went in one ear and out the other. Not only did that sound meaningless, but also annoying. Even the Chaotix Detective Agency was quieter than these chatterboxes. With nothing else to do, Rouge just stared out the window in hopes of seeing something… anything… interesting. She doubted that; Station Square is a bustling busy city, yet clam and clean at the same time. It was something that both bored and excited the bat.

Rouge felt her eyelids dropping. Isn't that the most exciting place in the world? She felt herself just staring at basically nothing when she could have sworn she saw pairs of quills out of the corner of her eye… Purple quills at that… Hmmm. Curious, and bored out of her mind, she left Starbucks to investigate. She already paid for her coffee and scones so the cops would be off her back. She knew that as a member of the G.U.N. Agency, but even a G.U.N. agent could not get away with misbehavior. So she would have to be a good little girl and set a good moral example for the citizens of Station Square. Ha! As if.

Luckily for our bat friend, she did not have to walk very far, for the source of the purple quills sat right in front of her on an old paint peeling bench. That happened to be red. Rouge found herself in the purple hedgehog's view blocking her from looking out in front of her.

The hedgehog noticed her after a long moment and said, "Um, I need to look out in front of me ya know."

Rouge ignored the hedgehog's comment and moved out of the way. The response startled her but the bat quickly maintained her composure as she did her usual 'greet 'n' annoy'.

"Hiya," she greeted the hedgehog. When the hedgehog only nodded an answer, Rouge continued, "Why so glum dear?"

"Sam," The hedgehog replied. "Samantha the Hedgehog is my name. And...I dunno, I'm having boy trouble I guess."

"You guess?" Rouge asks, "If you 'guess' that boys are the trouble chances are the problems aren't even there. Now..."

The bat thought for a moment on what to ask Sam, something that can't be answered in a yes or no.

Then it clicked, "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Sonic."

Rouge remained nonchalant outwardly, but inside she was laughing. Yet another girl crushing on the Blue Blur himself! How she wanted to laugh in Sam's face! How she wanted to spread the news adding to Sonic's virtually endless list of fangirls now crushing on him. But...but... Rouge noticed something on Sam's face that showed she was sincere. The way her face scrunched up in sadness? Perhaps even worry? Either way Sam does not look too good. It was time to investigate the issue further.

"How long have you had your eye on him?" The bat asked.

Sam took a deep breath, "It's a long story."

"Don't worry about that darling," Rouge replied. "I've got time."

Sam gave her a suspicious look, deciding whether or not to tell her. Then she began to speak.

"I am a shape-shifter." She started, "I was born one and had all these powers since the day I was born. Most people were afraid of me for that."

"Why?"

"Because I have a bad temper. When I get really mad, I turn into a dangerous creature, machine, whatever and I attack the person. And it doesn't help that I'm very emotional; so I had no friends. I was very lonely."

Sam paused for a moment and Rouge waited impatiently, "It wasn't like that for all my life though, only from kindergarten to eighth grade. I met Sonic at kindergarten class when the kids won't play with me despite the teacher's constant encouragement to do so. But really, the teacher was afraid of me too, like most adults. Every adult at the school was afraid of me. Except one person: Sonic. Whatever he saw in me, he must have seen something special because he always made sure I had company. He always put a smile on my face. He is pretty much everything a girl could ask for in a guy."

Sam paused as though she were still recalling the good times she had: it was a sort of dreamy look that appeared prominent on Sam's face. It's been eleven, no twelve years since Rouge witnessed a feeling like this.

The bat was now hooked on her story, "What happened next?"

"After middle school we kinda went our own separate ways and never saw each other again until...recently. We had to transfer to two completely schools, so that ended my friendship with Sonic there. But the reason I am upset is because I...have feelings for Sonic and I am not sure if he has feelings for me..."

"Did he give any hints?"

Sam thought a moment before answering. "A little bit, but I dunno if they're actual signs or not. I would like to find out myself but I can't because of Little Miss Crazy Pants-ss."

Rouge giggled at the nickname, "I like that nickname. That's gotta be one of the best one I've heard all day."

Sam joined in, "But you know who I mean."

"Oh sweetie. I think everyone will know what you mean."

Sam's face suddenly fell, "I don't know why I told you this...I guess...I need to get that much off my chest."

Rouge rested a reassuring hand on the hedgehog's shoulder, "Don't worry hun, I understand. All girls have that issue. Besides, your secret's safe with me."

"I guess."

Pause. Rouge debated in her mind on whether or not she should help the hedgehog. Then she made up her mind, "We'll find out if Blue likes you or not."

Sam's eyes widened. "But Amy..."

"You have any friends?"

Sam was caught off guard for a moment but answered "Yes."

"Good, 'cause we need all the help we can get to keep that pink hedgehog distracted."

-Later-

"Come on Amy!" Flower Fox urged as she dragged Amy out of the mansion.

"Flower, where're we going?" Amy laughed at Flower's demanding behavior.

Flower stopped dragging the pink hedgehog long enough to answer.

"I can't tell you," She said, "It's a surprise."

Amy was puzzled by Flower's behavior, but shrugged as she decided to follow her; eight year olds need attention after all.

"Well lead the way."

With a slam from the large door, they were gone. Barely a moment later, Rouge dropped from the ceiling, softly hitting the floor on her feet. The bat easily snuck into the house before the two girls had set out. She had to see if Flower would lead Amy away so Sam could visit Sonic herself. Rouge knew that Sonic was usually relaxing on the balcony above the mansion so that gives Sam plenty of time to do so. Rouge checked to see if there were any signs of anything pink. Out the window? Nope. In the kitchen or living room? Nothing there. Outside near the balcony? Not a pink thing to be seen. The coast was clear.

As if on cue, Sam appeared on the stairs. Rouge gave her a nod before making her way to the entrance.

"I'll keep a lookout for Pinky out here," She informed, "Have fun with your man."

She then winked mischievously.

"He's not my man," The violet hedgehog protested.

"You sure? You two look cuter together than Pinky and Blue."

"Why are you even helping me anyways?"

Sam had to ask that question; it's been bothering her ever since Rouge took an interest in her problem. There was just something about her that made her...shady. Sam had to know what exactly is going on.

Rouge shrugged, "I'm a giver."

"You sure?" Sam wanted to know.

"What's so wrong with being nice to people!" Rouge suddenly demanded, "Because if being nice really is a crime well I am a good citizen."

Sam was taken back. "I didn't mean-"

"Just-" Rouge suddenly felt nauseous; she was tired of being questioned all the time. Everyone distrusting you is one thing, but everyone constantly questioning your motives on why and how she acted the way she did; why she talked the way she talked; even why she dresses the way she does! It is just enough to drive anyone crazy.

"Go to Blue." Rouge finished exasperatingly.

Seeing that Sam pushed her too hard, she went out the door to the balcony. Rouge was glad of this. It is no wonder Rouge had any true allies.

-Meanwhile-

Flower and Amy stood in front of the Burger Shop, stomachs growling in anticipation.

The fox shook her head, "Sorry, I was hungry. We can go to your real surprise after lunch."

Amy shrugged, "Sounds good to me but..."

Flower leaned close to Amy, "But what?"

"I don't have any money…"

Flower let out a disappointed groan, "I don't have any money either."

"But..."

Flower looked up at Amy in annoyance, "But what?!"

"I have this." Amy replied as she pulled out a credit card with Christopher Thonrdyke's name on it.

Flower grins.

-Back at the Mansion-

Sam quietly opened the door in case the hedgehog was napping. Her assumption was proven wrong when Sonic slowly stretched, fully awakened as he sat up to look around. When he saw Sam, a look of surprise formed on his face.

"Oh, hey Sam." He greeted, "Long time no see."

"Hi Sonic," Sam replied. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

Sonic casually waved her apology away, "No need to be sorry," He said. "As long as you're not Amy, I don't care who comes."

"Speaking of Amy..." Sam began.

Sonic raised an eyebrow, "What about her?"

"She's hanging out with Flower for a couple of hours today so that your day can be Amy-free."

Sonic chuckled, "Oh I love Amy-free days."

"Who doesn't?" Sam agreed, "Not that Amy's a bad person. I mean, if she weren't so obsessed with you, I'd want to hang out with her more often."

"Me too." Sonic nodded.

A small pause ensued, with the hedgehogs searching their minds on what to talk about. Sam hated the silence between them and finally spoke.

"So... you've been on a lot of adventures?" She began.

Sonic sat upright and grinned his usual cocky grin, "More adventures than you could ever go on in your life!"

"Oh yeah?" Sam playfully challenged, "Why don't you tell me then?"

"Gladly. There was this one time where I was in a Greenhill Zone and Tails and I..."

Sonic rambled on and on about his adventures but Sam didn't mind; she grinned as Sonic vividly described Eggman's face when he destroyed his mean bean machine. She laughed as Sonic reacted his over exaggerated heroic moments. Sam felt the same feeling she felt every time she was with Sonic: trust and happiness. She felt right at home with the hedgehog and she was happy. It had been too long since she experienced that feeling.

-With Amy and Flower—

After lunch, Amy and Flower went to Twinkle Park to ride on the bumper cars. They laughed as the cars collided with one another. At first Amy was reluctant to enter the park since 'cute couples get in free', but the park people let them go in free of charge anyway since they looked to be good friends. The two had been visiting everywhere in the park for hours before Amy started to get tired. Flower, however seemed to have endless amounts of energy and looked like wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Amy drove to the sidelines where she removed her foot from the gas pedal and stepped out. A few wobbly steps later, she sat on a nearby bench, hands on her belly.

"Flower sure wanted my attention today," Amy thought to herself, "Ever since we went to the mall the other day, Flower has been urging me to spend time with her. She and I have more in common than I thought. She is so sweet and fun. A little hyperactive too; but the best part about her is she doesn't mind me talking about Sonic-"

Amy gasped as her mind crossed that thought. Amy realized that she's been so busy playing with Flower that not once did Sonic come to mind. And Amy promised herself that she'd meet up with Sonic in midafternoon.

Amy stood up, waved her arms around to get Flower's attention.

"Flower, we have to go." Amy announced as she waved her to slow down and stop.

Flower frowned. "Aww…Now?"

"Yes now," Amy confirmed, "I need to go see Sonic. Oh the poor hedgehog, he must be very lonely!"

Flower's eyes lit up as Amy took notice and gave her a look.

"What?" She asked.

"I just remembered," Flower exclaimed. "There's a place in Twinkle Park I've been dying to go see."

"Where's that?"

Flower hopped out of the bumper cart and clutched Amy's hand as she pulled her along.

"Come on!"

The truth was there wasn't any new ride Flower wanted to go on; she just wanted to distract Amy from her thoughts on Sonic; at least a little bit longer.

"I hope you're almost done with Sonic…" The fox thought anxiously.

-At the mansion-

Flower's plan had failed. Sure it distracted Amy for a good two minutes, but Amy's commitment to Sonic proved stronger than whatever new rides Twinkle Park had to offer. There was just no use in tearing that girl apart from her blue hero. So when Amy demanded that the two returned to the mansion immediately, Flower had no choice but to admit defeat and hope that Sam had enough time to spend time with her friend.

Flower and Amy arrived at the mansion where Amy marched straight to the balcony while Flower stayed behind; she knew exactly what was going to happen and she did not want to see the anger in Amy's eye when she saw it. Flower then heard Amy gasping, followed by the sound of Sam and Sonic trying to explain to Amy that it clearly wasn't what it looked like, finishing with the crashing of Amy's hammer into the side of the mansion. Then she heard running from both hedgehogs as Amy chased the two with roars of anger. Flower felt bad for Sonic and Sam for being in the situation but knew that it was overall their decision and therefore their risk of spending time with one another. Still, Flower saw Amy's hammer a while back the last time she chased Sonic; and she had nightmares about that hammer for a week after that.

"Glad YOU'RE not being chased?" A silk-filled voice interrupted.

Flower jumped and almost screamed but turned around and saw it was only Rouge. Flower recovered and stared at the bat.

"I saw the whole thing." Rouge continued, "Pinky sure is protective of her blue hero."

Flower nodded.

Rouge went on, "Now I'm about to tell you something, something that you absolutely cannot tell anyone! If you do there will be consequences, understand?"

Flower nodded once more, not trusting her voice.

"I personally think Amy and Sonic would be cute together. The only thing that prevents the two from actually being together is Blue's willingness to commit to a real relationship with a girl. With Sam and Blue, however, things are different. They actually want to be in each other's company. It's all evident; the way they look at each other, talk to each other, and how they act around each other says a lot of a potential relationship. From what I observed, they both like each other. A lot. The only way it could work is if they have encouragement to make a move."

"So you're saying we should try and get the two together?" Flower asked.

"Not in the least!" Rouge exclaimed, "I was only speaking what was on my mind. Geez, you actually think I cared to help someone like Sam?"

"Why else would you help her?" Flower pointed out.

Rouge turned her back to Flower.

"That," The bat replied, "Is something for you to figure out yourself. You can go ahead and tell your friend that I had to leave early, but she has my thanks."

"For what?" the fox got more confused.

The bat did not answer and excused herself outside before into the wide open sky. Flower could only watch Rouge disappear into the endless clouds. Flower thought about what the bat just said and wondered what she meant. When she got no answers, Flower shrugged her thoughts away as she went to the living room to watch television. Maybe some things are better off left a mystery.

QOTS What is the weirdest username you found recently/long time ago/something? It doesn't matter which media as long as it is a unusual username


	9. Hashtag What the French Toast

Read me please: Before you get started reading the story, I just want to say thank you to the following people: SteamRail74 for beta reading my last four stories (Damsels in Action!, I Am Rouge the Great And Beautiful, Plumber Or Hedgehog Muppet Song Parody, and this story), all my reviewers for expressing your enjoyment of my stories and offering me constructive criticism (some of you offered good advice) and even to the people who just read my stor(ies)y. Thank you all for taking the time to read my work. I cannot emphasize enough how happy it makes me to see that orange word reviews right next to my stories. It is appreciated greatly. With that said here's the usual:

No suing (I really don't want to lose money)

No flames (It could ruin my self-esteem)

Use constructive criticism if you want to critize me at all

Read and if you wish answer the question at the end of the story

Enjoy, keep a lookout for more and be awesome

One day... in a different unknown location

A black robed figure held up a dark emerald; one that could foresee the current events happening throughout the dimensions. The dimension he was paying attention to in particular however… was Earth, the home to Sonic the Hedgehog himself. But it was not Sonic he was paying attention to; but Sam the Hedgehog… ally and close friend to the Blue Blur himself.

The figure studied Sam closely as though trying to read her past just by looking at her. Ever since Nack the Weasel reported of her existence, the figure could do nothing but watch her carefully and ask himself questions with no hope of answers: How did she get here? Why does she like Sonic? And Who is the little black fox at her side?

"Boss." a female voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

The figure whirled around to see a red fox in his sight- Fiona Fox, his most trusted companion. She is as beautiful as she is trustworthy and hardworking… To him at least. Heh heh.

"Yeah?" The boss asked.

"I have good news and bad news."

"Let's start with the good news, eh?" The figure replied thoughtfully.

"The good news is we've found the target for Operation What-the-French Toast."

Hmm kinda lengthy name. The figure thought. Oh well. "An' the bad news?"

"Lightning Lynx has been hypnotized by the powerful magician to think he's a dog."

The figure face-palmed his forehead and sighed.

"Lynx just had to go and face the most powerful magician head on. What kind of doofus would send 'em to that guy?"

"Um...you?" Fiona answered slowly, "You wanted that Dark Emerald in your hand."

She pointed to the one in the figure's hand, "And you sent Lynx to retrieve it."

The figure slapped his forehead yet again. "Oh yeah, duh… Anyhow, I've a plan and boy is it sneaky."

"What's the plan?"

The figure turns around to her and replies, "Not much… just a little bit of misdirecting people. Before we do that, how's about the date ya mentioned?"

-Earth, Emerald Coast-

Shadow the Hedgehog lay on his red and black striped towel, exposing himself to the sun's powerful energy. His black sunglasses perched on top of his head as he stares out at the ocean with his recorder. He sighed; sand, waves, seagulls, blue skies and yet more ocean. Nothing exciting. And yet here he was, just staring at the ocean for no apparent reason.

The reason Shadow is filming the ocean is because the viewers on his YouTube channel requested it. Yes, Shadow has his own YouTube channel, problem? Anyway, for some reason the viewers wanted Shadow to see if he could find a mythical monster that could not be found by just filming the ocean. Of course being the most generous Youtuber he isn't, he decided to do what the viewers asked of him for once. Most of them even subscribed. Plus… he had nothing better to do.

Shadow stared out at the open blue and lowered his hand as he tried to put it away when a force, bigger than a fish, made the water swish and splash. He frowned, and then shrugged; it's nothing. Just a shark or dolphin or something.

Suddenly a small-sized being covered in lots and lots of seaweed emerged from the emerald blue ocean, its arms spread out like a blind person trying to feel their way around their surroundings. The forest green seaweed glimmered in the sunlight as the creature walked toward Shadow.

The hedgehog made no attempt to move out of the way, but instead grinned.

"Finally, something happening." He thought. Shadow swiftly pulled out his recorder and pushed the red record button. Shadow smirked as he pinched his nose with his two free fingers and talked.

"Like omg guys," He said like a stereotypical geek, mostly trying to annoy his opponent, "There is a seaweed monster striding around Emerald Coast. I think he's hungry and wants to dine on our very flesh." The viewers loved when he sounded like that, though he detested it in every way. Shadow snorted as he faked a convincing laugh, "Though I'm only kidding, I'm sure it's not that kind of monster!"

The monster muffled inaudible protests. It drew closer and closer. Still Shadow was not nervous.

"Let's communicate with him."

Shadow clicked his tongue, hummed deep in his throat, and faked a sneeze. Still the monster would not halt.

Before Shadow could make a move, the monster was suddenly whooshed in the arms of a dark figure, scooping her up and running off with it. The black hedgehog stood back in awe.

"Who the heck was that?" He wondered.

This figure was just as fast as... No, It can't be! It can't be that faker! He better check it out… but first...

Shadow glanced down at the recorder in his hands, having the footage still rolling.

"Oops, looks like I'm having some technical difficulties," He said as he made fake static noises shaking the camera slightly, "So must leave and I'll take care of some technological business. Goodbye."

With that said, Shadow pressed the off button and ran off after the figure. He was glad that it was over, as he hated having to sound pathetic in order to appease his viewers. Why did he put up with it and do what they requested? He honestly had no clue.

"Who was he?" The hedgehog asked himself, "If it's not faker, than who is it? And what does he want with a sea monster?"

All these questions simply had no answers to them at that time, and Shadow frowned at this conclusion.

"Well whoever you are, you are about to be taught a lesson in taking my things!"

Seeing a pursuer, the figure tried to lose Shadow by zigzagging with every turn he made. He noticed Shadow was on his trail and tried to lose him in whatever way possible. He dove down the streets, not caring about the pedestrians crossing the streets. Skirts flew, papers scattered, people panicked. They panicked more when another black figure, Shadow, dashed by them and further scattered the chaos. The black hedgehog didn't care though; what mattered was that he found out whom that figure is and why he wants that lump of seaweed.

Left… right… left… right…

The figure dashed back and forth, but could not lose the hedgehog; no matter what he did. He gritted his teeth, but then an idea sparked in his head. The figure ran off into an abandoned warehouse, Shadow close at his heels. When Shadow entered the house however, he did not see the seaweed monster… but the figure himself.

Shadow got into a defensive stance.

"Who are you, and what have you done with that thing?"

The figure shrugged, "What thing?"

"That monster!" Shadow said.

The figure snickered, "You chased me all the way through the town just for a monster. Really? Really…"

Shadow glowered at him, "I also came after you so that I can discover more about you. You remind me of someone and I want to know who exactly!"

"I got some questions for ya too. Why do you want the monster so bad? And who do I remind you of?"

"Enough games!" Shadow yelled, his voice echoing throughout the warehouse. "Where is that thing?"

The figure pointed to the left and there was the monster, stumbling out of a door, seaweed dropping to the ground, and revealing the figure underneath- a small black fox. Both the hedgehogs stared at her, clearly not expecting the monster to be unmasked like this.

Meanwhile the black fox took in her surroundings.

"Who are you guys?" she asked wearily.

The figure zoomed up to the fox, cupping her face with one hand and spoke sweetly.

"Can't say my name sweet-cakes" He said, "But I can tell ya this: I'm keeping ya safe from this…"

He pointed to Shadow as he emphasized the word Shadow hated with a passion, "Faker."

The fox covered her ears and ran off into a corner, in refusal to deal with the two guys. The figure and Shadow glared at one another.

"Whaddya want from her anyhow?" the figure demanded, preparing himself to fight.

Shadow clenches his fists, "I could ask you the same thing. What is it about the fox motivates you to go to such extremes?"

"Her?" The figure scoffed in her direction, "I don't care about the fox. It's the purple hedgehog I'm after an' if you hadn't got in the way, I'd be... talking with her sweetly."

"I don't know what you mean by 'the purple hedgehog' but one thing's for certain…"

Shadow got into his fighting stance, "You picked the wrong time and place to make me mad!"

The figure chuckled, "Oh I'm so scared," he mocked. "Who are you to make such a claim?"

"The Ultimate Life form," Shadow growled, emphasizing every word to the figure.

"Oh? If that's true, then I should expect nothing less from this fight," The figure smirked, readying his fighting stance as well.

The two stood in their own positions, they eyes daring the other to make the first move. Their stares were hard, feet firmly on the ground. The fox dashed to a nearby crate and hid in it while the two stared each other down. The fox was secretly hoping that the black hedgehog would win since he was here to save her. She thought. She watched.

Shadow lunged at the figure, fist curled into a punch. The figure however was already set to counter as he sidestepped and planted a solid kick on Shadow's back. Shadow let out a grunt of both pain and surprise. The figure placed his foot on Shadow's shoulder blades, but Shadow curled his legs and kicked the figure's back to push him off. The figure went flying through the air, cracking up against the wall near the fox's crate. The fox whimpered softly and trembled at the sudden introduction of the figure.

The figure growled then tucked himself into a ball, and Shadow did the same. The two collided into one another in Homing Attacks. Both then fell back from the force of one another. They continued the pattern for roughly ten minutes of counter after counter after falling back one last time. They panted in exhaustion from the impact of the attacks they made on each other. Intense silence engulfed the area.

Beep… beep…. Beep… beep...

A small gadget broke the silence just as quickly as the silence formed. The figure muttered something in annoyance then ran off, disappearing into the dark night. Shadow watched him go then went to search for the black fox; who came out of her hiding place when she heard all the fighting ceased.

"Are...are you gonna chase him?" She timidly asked.

Shadow shook his head at her timid composure, but responded nonetheless.

"Not this time. But if he were ever to return, he will get a nice pummeling."

He paused as he took a breath.

"By the way," He said, "What's your name?"

"Flower Fox. It's nice to meet you sir," She answered as she extended out her hand to Shadow; who remained unmoved.

Shadow crossed his arms.

"No need to call me 'sir', kid. I am the world's Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Flower smiled, "I like the name, it suits you."

Shadow let out a small grin of approval, then immediately realized what he was doing and cleared his throat, the grin disappearing.

"You..." Shadow muttered as he was caught off-guard with Flower's compliment and searched his brain for something to say.

Then it clicked, "Do you know the name of the guy who captured you?"

Flower thought hard, "I heard someone call him 'Sir Prize' on the radio. I dunno if that's his real name though…"

Shadow stroked his chin.

"At least I know something about my potential enemy." He thought to himself.

The black hedgehog looked down at the little black fox as he recalled the previous events; Flower was taken away from Emerald Coast. Surly someone like her has a home.

"You have a home right?"

"Yeah."

Shadow nodded. "Good. I want you to go back home."

"But..." Flower looked frightened all of a sudden, "But I don't know where I am. I don't know how to get back from here."

Shadow sighed, "You can find your way home. I was around your age when I started finding my way back to a lot of places. You can do the same."

Flower shivered at the thought of her travelling alone this late at night. A few tears escaped her eyes. Shadow's eyes widened at the sight of them then he embraced her with thoughts of Maria clouding his mind.

Flower cried onto his shoulder then whispered, "Can you take me home?" As soon as Shadow imagined Flower's request in Maria's voice, his subconscious made up his mind for him.

A few moments later, Shadow and Flower embarked on Shadow's motorcycle and rode into the night, Flower clutching Shadow's waist in fear of falling off. As the ride back home went on, Flower's grip lessened, not enough for her to fall off but just enough that she'd stay on, as she enjoyed the feel of the rushing wind in her face. If this is what running feels like for Sonic, then she understands now why he likes it so much.

Shadow enjoyed the ride too, but for a different reason; he's rode on his own lots of times but the feeling of a person, especially a little girl, gave him a sense of complementarity… like he and the little fox were equal. The black hedgehog did not feel this way ever since his relationship with Maria. He imagined what the fox was capable of with her two robotized tails, how could he not notice, and how she may be useful…

"There! There! There!" Flower's voice interrupts Shadow's thoughts as he skidded to a stop just in time in front of the long silver gates of the Thorndyke Mansion.

Shadow stared at the giant house for a bit.

"You live here?" He asked slowly not quite believing the fact that a fox like her lives in a giant mansion.

Flower nodded, jumping off the motorcycle then spreads her arms out as though to embrace him. Shadow shook his head, so Flower used her tails to fly up to his cheek and kiss it. Flower ran off to the front entrance of the mansion before Shadow could do anything. As soon as Flower opened the door, a chorus of greetings and 'we were worried sick' followed and engulfed Flower into the house, the silent night filling the air yet again.

Shadow smiled at her, and then remembered something… his video from the beach! He completely forgot about the reason he went to Emerald Coast in the first place. He fumbled for his camera for a bit before pulling it out and finding that the camera recorded nothing from the time in the beach. Shadow gritted his teeth and was about to say something but another idea struck him instead.

He pinched his nose and resumed the recording; saying, "Hash tag, what-the-french-toast."

QOTS: How does the Shadow of this story compare to Sega's Shadow? Which Shadow do you prefer? Why?


	10. Peony

"We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature."- Henry David Thoreau

Mystic Ruins, mid morning

The five friends hopped into a mine cart and rode off into the tunnel leading to the forest, and Big's home. A short but bumpy ride later they arrived, up on a high cliff overlooking the endless dark green trees with a temple a good distance away. Everyone gasped at the breath taking view.

"It is beautiful Mr. Big," Cream managed to say.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Big grinned, "Uh thank you, I like the view myself."

"And you lived here all your life?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but da view always makes me happy inside, right here."

The large cat pointed to the middle of his chest.

"I feel that way too Mr. Big," Cream excitedly joined in, "Seeing pretty things always makes my heart happy too."

"And me," Flower chimed in.

Sam and Amy nodded in agreement. The group remained silent for a moment until Sam cleared her throat.

"Maybe we should get going guys." She said.

Big sparked to life, "Oh yeah! I got lot to show you."

Big, apparently too excited to use the ladder, jumped off the edge. The girls gasped as they heard the ground rumble. Immediate action was taken; Sam shape-shifted into a vulture, carried Flower and Amy in her talons and floated gently to the ground. Cream and Cheese followed shortly afterward. When the girls landed on the ground, they found that Big was completely unaffected by the impact of his fall. He was even smiling as though jumping off the edge of cliffs was a hobby he enjoyed doing every day. Regardless Amy ran over to him.

"Oh my God Big! Are you alright?" The hedgehog exclaimed as she examined Big as quickly as she could. To her surprise there were no signs of injury anywhere. Amy took a couple steps back and sizing Big up.

Big kept smiling, "It's okay Amy. I'm fine."

"But you jumped off the edge of the cliff!" Amy exclaimed, "Seriously Big you could've hurt yourself."

Big's ears drooped, "Uhh… I'm sorry, I got so excited and I-"

Sam walked over to the large cat.

"Cheer up Big, ya didn't do anything wrong," she comforted, "But what you did was very dangerous. Just try not to do it that often okay?"

Big's smile reappeared, "Okey dokey!"

Amy shot a glare at Sam, but Sam ignored her as she said "Okay everyone let's go and explore!"

"Yeah!" Everyone but Amy cheered in agreement.

Everyone walked side by side with one another; Flower and Big, then Cream and Cheese and finally Amy and Sam. Amy was still glaring at Sam. The purple hedgehog gave Amy a sideways glance.

"Something the matter?" She asked.

"Yes," Amy whispers hostilely. "Did you hear yourself talk? 'What you did was very dangerous'…"

Amy gave Sam a higher pitch than usual, "'Just don't do it very often okay?' I mean what kind of person says that?"

"So?" Sam shrugged, not understanding why Amy would be upset, "Big is the only one who can make his own decisions. If he wants to jump off the edge of a cliff, it's dangerous sure, but-"

She silenced Amy with a motion of her finger, "That is something Big wants to do, so why stop him?"

"Why?" Amy's statement was for a moment above a whisper.

The four friends gave her a funny look then shrugged and kept walking. Amy went on.

"Big is like a big brother to me." The pink hedgehog explained, "I watch over him and make sure he doesn't do anything dangerous, and you're not a good influence."

Amy sighed in frustration, "First you go and steal my Sonic and now you're telling my big brother it's okay to jump off cliffs. I've got my eye on you Samantha the Hedgehog, now more than ever."

Amy huffed in anger and stormed away from Sam's side. Sam stopped walking for a moment, clenching her fists; just what is that girl's problem? Sam wasn't trying to do anything wrong; she just wants people to do what they want to do. And she just wanted to talk to her old friend, not steal anyone's Sonic. That girl. Sam feels like Amy deserves a good kick in the pants sometimes. Just when Sam was just about ready to catch up with her friends, Cream the Rabbit and Cheese the Chao run up to her.

"Are you coming Miss Sam?" She asked, and then she noticed Sam's fists, "Are you okay?"

Sam forced herself to uncurl her fists, take a deep breath and smile, "Yeah, I'm fine."

She motioned for Cream to take her hand which the good rabbit did and the hedgehog said, almost reluctantly "Let's go."

-OOO-

For nearly an hour and a half the group travelled in the forest, following Big around and observing the various plants and trees to be seen. Big even led them to his own hut for a quick lunch break after a while. Cream, Cheese, and Flower seem to be happy with their adventure. Amy and Sam were still pretty mad at each other over their argument earlier, and they've been shooting glares to one another, giving each other their angriest faces; but overall pretending they were having a good time with the tour. Throughout the tour Big pointed out the flowers that are safe to pick and berries that are good to eat and the girls picked them gingerly. Cream had picked so many flowers that Big had to help her carry most of them. Flower picked two or three flowers but didn't go overboard like Cream did. The group was wondered the forest again after their break, once again admiring the scenery. Cream marvelled at the beauty of the flowers, Big got tired of walking relaxed by the river, Amy and Sam sat as far from each other as possible, and Flower sat with Big.

Suddenly the fox sat upright, "Hey guys! There is a guy over there!"

Everyone was shaken from their thoughts looked over to where she pointed and saw it was only an explorer. He heard Flower yelling and went over to the group.

"Hello there," he greeted, "Are you folks lost?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Not at all, sir but thanks," Amy spoke in what seemed like forever, "Big was just giving us a tour of the forest."

The explorer smiled, "Good, how's the forest?"

"Great, Mr. Explorer!" Cream beamed, "Everything in the forest is just so pretty, I even got a lot of flowers for Mama!"

"I can see that," The man noted from the tiny bits of flowers caught in Cream's hand, "And you don't have to call me 'Mr. Explorer', my name's Adam Duarte. I regularly come to this forest to report any how the plants are doing under the weather."

"So you work with the weather man?" Flower asks innocently.

Duarte chuckles a bit then says, "No not very often, but in this case I may have to."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Adam turned his back to them, "Come with me and I'll show you."

Off the man went with the group following him. It was not a very far walk as they reached their destination in no time at all. Adam led them to a weak, water-depraved bush, with weak drooping peonies decorating the bush.

Cream gasped, "What happened to them?"

Duarte stared at the bush, "It hasn't been raining in the forest lately, so the flowers are dying slowly."

"Uh that's horrible!" Big bellowed.

"But we've been picking flowers and they looked perfectly fine," Sam pointed out, "So how come they're looking-"

One glance at the flowers showed weakness and water-deprivation. The flowers looked worse than the peonies, "Oh..."

Cream looked she was about to cry, "Oh Mr. Duarte, will it rain soon?"

Adam ruffled her ears as an attempt to comfort her.

"To be perfectly honest I don't know." He said, "But I sure do hope so. The one thing we can do Miss is to hope for the best because flowers need rain as much as we need water."

Cream nodded at him in agreement. Adam stood to his feet having crouched to talk with Cream.

"I love nature," Adam sighed, "I always have. That is why it always pains me to see any sign of apathy toward the flowers. I've no water can so I cannot water the poor flowers myself."

The sadness was thick in his voice, like he actually is pained to learn the flower's misfortune.

5h agoFlower went over to Adam and tugged at his sleeve. When the young man looked down to her, Flower asks "Is there anything we can do?"

Duarte sizes her up then turns to Sam and Amy before speaking, "The rain isn't the only issue."

"What?" Flower heard what he said; she just didn't understand the meaning of the phrase.

"Until other issues are solved," Duarte went on, "The rain cannot come."

"What the heck do you mean?" Sam grunted, tired of the riddles.

Before Adam could answer, his radio sparked to life. Adam reached for his radio, spoke softly for a moment then sighed. He pressed a button and turned to the friends.

"I have matters to attend to." He finished, "Enjoy the view of the forest."

Adam's hardy boots sounded for barely a few seconds and then the forest remained silent. No one knew what Adam meant.

-OOO-

No one spoke; everyone deep in thought on the current situation; the flowers are dying and all seems due to the lack of rain. The friends thought of solutions but none seemed quite right.

Flower broke the heavy silence, "Hey guys…"

All heads turned to her, eager on what she has to say, "What if we watered all the plants ourselves?"

"With what?" Amy questioned.

Flower pointed her two tails toward the river. Everyone nodded. How come no one thought of this before?

"That's a great idea Flower," Cream jumped at the idea, "But... what would we use to collect the water with?"

"Ooh ooh Uh I know! I know! I know!" Big jumped up and down.

"Yes Big?" Amy encouraged.

"Uh I have a watering can at home," Big announced, "But it's only a little can an' not a big one."

Big stretched out his arms to demonstrate the size of his imaginary watering can.

Sam shrugged, "Something's better than nothing."

"But," Amy began, "The forest is huge. It'll take you guys forever to water all the flowers."

"Not if we use teamwork," Cream chimed in, "I'll go call Mama and she can call as many people to help as she can."

Everyone nodded in approval.

"Yeah, that can work," Flower acknowledged.

Amy seemed eager to get the plan moving, "Yes yes so let's go back home and get everything ready."

"Uh I go and get watering can," Big announced again as he raised his hand trotting out of the forest.

"And I'll go and get Mama," Cream declared.

"Chao chao," Cheese agreed.

"And I'll go with you." Flower said.

"Me too," An eager Amy replied, "Just so that someone responsible can-"

Amy was turning her head to specify to Sam that she was mentioning her but found no purple hedgehog.

Amy was surprised, "Sam? Sam where are you?"

No answer. Cream, Cheese and Flower too looked worried, "Miss Amy, where did Miss Sam go?"

"I...I don't know," The pink hedgehog replied.

Amy fought her conflicting thoughts; a part of her was glad that Sam left. But the other part of her is worried for her, she did slip away without a word after all. Amy wanted to tell Cream that Sam didn't matter; all the hedgehog did was annoy Amy. Yet Sam was nice to everyone and was quite likeable. A few minutes later, Amy cleared her throat.

"Cream do you know how to get home from here?"

"Yes m'am," Cream responded politely.

"Okay, I want you, Cheese and Flower to go to your Mama's house and ask her to get help with the water and making a search party to find Sam."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to look for Sam."

"On your own?"

Amy leaned down to Cream, "Don't worry about the issue Cream, I'm sure Sam hasn't gone far at all. And who knows…"

Geez Amy sure was good at faking her preppy attitude, "Maybe I'll find Sam before you know it."

That was good enough for Cream. She nodded and said, "Be careful Miss Amy."

"I will." The words barely slipped from her mouth as the three younger friends flew away.

Amy sighed then examined the ground in search of footprints. There were none. Any sign of Sam was erased. The sun shone bright in the sky as Amy began her search.

QOTS: How would you describe Amy's and Sam's relationship thus far in the series?

Special thanks to SteamRail74 for beta reading this piece.

Mystic Ruins, deep in the jungle

Sam walked through the jungle, her thoughts swirling in her head over and over again. She was mad. Actually, she is pretty steamed; Amy was starting to drive her off the deep end… so she did the only thing she could do- walk away. Or at least stay away from everyone until she felt like her normal self again.

Sam heard much of the conversation as she snuck out of the hearing range of everyone; they are going to try and water all the plants in the forest then everyone is going to go and look for her just because she "disappeared". Sam didn't 'disappear'; she just walked away so she could clear her head. Besides there was a certain pink hedgehog that refused to cooperate with her desire to clear things up. So Sam decided that running away for a while was the best move.

The only problem was that Sam was wondering around for so long that she forgot where she was. Oh darn… she was lost. The purple hedgehog shrugged. No worries; Sam would just shape-shift into a bird and see where she was and find her way back from here. So that was exactly what she did. She transformed into a bird only to find herself in an unfamiliar territory, with large beat-up trees blocking her view. Sam frowned; she certainly does not remember this part of the forest. How long was she walking for anyways?

Sam knitted her eyebrows in worry; where was she anyway? Certainly no closer than the entrance to the jungle but nowhere near as close as she is to home. Looks like Sam has to retrace her steps a little bit. Before Sam could make any move of any sort, a light blue bird hit her side, making Sam tumble midair. What was that?!

Sam tried to strain her eyes to the flash of-whatever that was when it hit her again, this time with more force. And talons. Wincing, Sam fell out of the sky and right onto a tree branch. The branch whined under her weight and threatened to break. Sam acted quickly and hopped to the ground, shaping her arms into wings to slowly lower herself to her feet. She barely had time to let out a sigh of relief when the bird thing came right up to her face.

He scowled at her with the most unpleasant look; his beak half scrunched half pointed straight at her bosom, eyebrows crunched up in anger, like a mother who found out one of her children was lying, and glares sharp as knives that could cut into her skin.

"Finally!" His screechy voice screeched, "It is about time I found you! Where have you been? Not crawling around in those...worms I hope!"

He wrinkled his beak at the thought of worms.

As Sam uncupped her ears, which was not easy to do, her eyes widened. She remembered him now; Predator Hawk! The persnickety, stingy and most unbelievably precise bird Sam had ever come across.

Hawk saw Sam's recognizing him and continued, "It's about time you recognized me, and to think we've known each other for quite a bit."

The blue bird stopped and stroked his chin, perhaps wondering if that last statement was true.

"What're you doing here?" Sam demanded once she calmed down, "Why are you here? Someone needs to tell me what's going on 'cause I'm confused."

The hawk casually flicked an invisible piece of lint from his shoulder, "I was sent here to pick you up, that's what. And what a day he picked!"

His dark blue eyes narrowed down to his red jumpsuit, which looked completely clean, "Look at the mess this jungle has made to my beautiful suit! I am going to make you pay for my dry cleaning young lady!"

"Who sent you to pick me up?" Sam asked as she tried to steer the conversation back on course.

Knowing Predator Hawk, it was quite easy to get off track of any serious conversation.

The blue bird halted his assaults on the muck and averted his eyes to her, "Who sent who to pick up what?"

Sam face-palmed her forehead and let out an aggravated sigh, "Look I don't have time for whatever game it is Sc-"

"This forest is driving me bananas!"

The hawk refused to let the hedgehog talk.

Sam let out an exasperated sigh before turning to walk away. She got barely a few steps away when her ankle was snatched upward a thick rope hugging her ankle tightly. Sam let out a scream as she went soaring through the air upside down. Predator Hawk glanced over to the direction of Sam's scream, his eyes widened in relief.

"Oooohhh," He said thoughtfully. "That's where I left my trap. And to think it could've caught perfectly good healthy REAL prey."

Sam muttered something under her breath.

Predator Hawk got right in her face, "What was that my dear?"

"I said you better have a very good reason to be doing this to me."

A scream rang behind Sam, making her jump a little, or what looked like a jump. Amy hung suspended in the air, her right foot caught in a small loop of rope. Her dress dropped in her face, revealing her underpants. Amy groaned in embarrassment. The blue hawk shielded his eyes, pulling a long black bar with a long white word censored on it from his pocket and covering Amy's waist. He admired the work of the bar.

"Much better." He remarked.

"Get me down from here!" Amy wailed, "I need to find Sam!"

"And some dignity." Sam snickered.

"Oh shut- Sam?!" Amy noticed Sam for the first time and grew surprised, "Where were you? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Funny, I've been avoiding you everywhere," The hedgehog joked, "I'd like to talk but this is not the time to do that."

Before Amy could respond, four screams followed the talking with Big, Flower, and Cream suspended by a foot in the air. The trio looked dizzy already.

"And here are traps two…" Hawk nodded toward Amy's, "Three…" To Flower's, "Four…" Cream's, "And five." to Big's.

He marveled at the sight of the captured friends, "I caught five people and I didn't even have to get down and dirty. This is SO easy."

"Predator Hawk?" Sam said, "You forgot something?"

"Me? Forget? Impossible!" The hawk bellowed and stomped on the ground, "Whatever that may be?"

"I can…" Sam suddenly shape-shifted into a puddle of water, sliding out the rope and splattering in a pile of water before reshaping into a smirking purple hedgehog, "…shape shift."

The blue hawk growled as he cut through the air, his razor sharp beak aimed right at her when Cheese the Heroic Chao smacked him square in the face, forcing the hawk to miss Sam by a few inches. The hawk muttered under his breath before realizing something very important: He was hung in the air. By his ankle. In trap number four. Then he realized important thing number two; Sam conveniently helped the others, with the help of Cream, Cheese and Flower (curse their little ankles the embarrassed hawk thought)- offscreen and placed the long black bar with the word censored right on his face.

Later

The group took turns explaining their sides of the story, and watering the flowers did not slide. Then everyone asked the exact same question at the exact same time, "Are you alright?"

Sam examined herself for a moment, and then nodded, "I'm walking aren't I?"

Everyone laughed, and then got wet. Startled everyone looked up at the sky to find it was raining! Smiles stretched on every face; never have they ever been so glad to see dark clouds and feel the ice cold raindrops on their noses. Flower opened her mouth wide, tasting the water fresh from the sky. Cream Cheese and Big cheered and jumped together. Sam and Amy had to admit but it was quite cute how everyone was celebrating the long awaited arrival of the rain.

Amy glanced over at Sam.

"Sam?" She whispered.

Sam looked over at Amy. She knew what Amy as going to say but she waited.

"I guess I was a bit of a..."

"Jerk?" Sam guessed.

"Yeah," Amy replied, "I didn't mean to be like one to you. I'm sorry."

Sam playfully punched her in the arm and the pink hedgehog jumped back a bit, not used to the gesture, "What was that for?"

"Being a jerk of course," Sam laughed.

Amy, seeing she was forgiven, playfully punched back. The girls laughed for a longer than a few minutes. Sam gasped as she came to a realization.

"What's wrong?" Amy questioned.

"We forgot all about Adam Duarte and Vector!"

Amy was about to speak and reassure Sam that they are in fact fine when a clumsy crocodile and a skinny explorer stumbled into the clearing.

Duarte beamed, "The rain is back! It is back! I knew it would return I just knew it!"

"Yeah yeah the rain is back now please get off my tail!" The crocodile demanded.

The explorer mumbles an apology then stood to his feet.

"All is forgiven?" He asked mysteriously.

The hedgehogs gave him an odd look but nodded nonetheless. Adam Duarte smiled then walked away with his arms outstretched.

Vector stared after that guy, "You guys friends with him or something?"

QOTS: I am looking for ways to challenge myself and I think that writing genres would be worth a try. Are there any genre styles you want me to attempt? Examples: Comedy, horror, action, etc


	11. The Green Door

One early afternoon

A long black limousine rolled into view from the long roads leading away from Station Square. Normally people foreign to Station Square would be curious on the details of the limousine, while others- people from Station Square- know the exact and only person who often rides the long car: Christopher Thorndyke. Those who know the twelve-year-old boy would be quite surprised to find that instead of the boy and his small company of friends, they'd find Sonic, Sam, Flower, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Tails and Knuckles all spread out in the different sections of the automobile. If you'd never heard of or seen the figures mentioned above, it would be quite a surprise indeed.

But then your heart would float alongside your body as you hear some of the anthropomorphic characters singing- Sam, Flower, Cream, Cheese and Amy- various karaoke songs. Your eyes would wonder what the red echidna was thinking, or why the yellow fox paid more attention to his hands than the karaoke songs, or perhaps what the blue hedgehog had done to tire himself as he snored heavily. It was almost like seeing a family going on a road trip, which, in a way, it was a family road trip. The friends are pretty close.

"The ants go marching one by one! Hurrah, Hurrah!

The ants go marching one by one! Hurrah Hurrah!

The ants go marching one by one the little one stops to suck her thumb and they all go marching to the ground to get out of the rain," the girls sang.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" the little ones howled in delight. They laughed. Amy motioned to Sonic, still sound asleep. The laughter turned into soft giggling as the girls mumbled the rest of the song among themselves.

"I am so excited," Flower whispered.

"Me too," Sam agreed. "I've never been to an amusement park before."

"It's super fun, Miss Sam," Cream chimes in. "I went there one time with Mr. Vector, Mr. Espio and Charmy and we all had fun."

"There are allll sorts of goood things in the amusement park Sam," Amy informed her, grinning. "Rides, cotton candy, games, stuff animals," Amy counted the items off her fingers. "I hope my Sonic wins the biggest stuffed animal in a game. Oh, it will be so romantic." Amy sighed as she leaned back into her seat.

Sam rolled her eyes. "She's in Amy land again."

Amy sat up right away. "A girl can dream, can't she?" she said teasingly. "Just 'cause you never had a boyfriend-"

"Hey guys look at this!" the silent echidna interrupted.

The girls' heads darted from this way to that, temporarily forgetting the conversation. "What?"

Knuckles chuckled. "Nothing, I just wanted Amy to be quiet."

"Knuckles!" Amy exclaimed, waking Sonic in the process. The blue hero opened his eyes and yawned.

"Hey what's all the ruckus? You guys having a party or something?"

"Or something," Sam joked. The others laughed.

"It sure was something," Tails commented with his small quick fingers going this way, that way...

An hour later…

"We're here we're here we're here!" Flower and Cream shouted.

"Chao chao chao!" Cheese joined in.

"It's about time," Sam snorted.

The others agreed. After finding a parking space and calming an electrified Flower down, the group set off to a hotel to check out their rooms. For the sake of the younger children, the group decided to stay in various rooms that each fit two people.

"Tails and I are sleeping together," Sonic announced almost automatically. Tails nodded sheepishly.

Amy groaned but didn't say anything. "I'll go with Miss Amy," Cream said. "To make her feel better."

"Thanks Cream," Amy smiled.

"You're welcome Miss Amy."

"I'm with Flower," Sam declared. She patted Knuckles's shoulder. "And poor Knuckles is all alone."

Knuckles shrugged. "I don't mind. Besides, I like it that way." That is true; Knuckles spent most of his life on the Floating Island after all. So Sonic went up to the receptionist at the desk who didn't make a fuss about his sudden appearance (compared to the other citizens).

"Three rooms for two and one small room please," he requested politely.

The receptionist nodded and handed him the keys. "The room numbers are on the keys," she informed him. She smiled. "You're here to have a good time with your friends?"

"Actually Flower," Sonic pointed over to the black fox, "was begging us to take her here for days, so here we are."

The lady chuckled. "I know what it's like. I have a seven-year-old daughter at home who is a lot like her."

"Really?"

"Yep! She is very smart, but can be a bit of a handful at times. There was that one time when I was feeding her Coco Puffs..."

"Sonic!" Flower hollered to the blue hedgehog. Sonic glanced over to see the stares his friends gave him and laughed. "Whoops, I kept you guys waiting." He turned to the receptionist. "Thanks for talking with me, I'll see ya later."

"Bye bye now," she replied as the next customer replaced Sonic's spot in line. Sonic joined his friends and handed them the appropriate keys. The group walked close together down the long hallway with already occupied rooms. The rooms the friends were looking for were next to one another.

"Looks like we're neighbors," Amy snorted.

"Good thing we got Sonic to stop talking with his new girlfriend," Knuckles teased.

Sonic playfully slapped Knuckles' arm. "Says the guy who has never been with any girl at all!"

Knuckles returned the gesture, unintentionally knocking Sonic to the ground with the force. Amy gasped but Sonic stood to his feet laughing, as though it didn't hurt at all. "You still got it!"

The girls sighed in relief but decided to get a move on and quickly chose their rooms. Cream and Amy chose a soft pink room with giant bubble gum queen size beds while Sam and Flower chose a lavender room with small dark purple butterflies fluttering toward the ceiling. Both pairs were happy with their choice. Meanwhile Sonic (who was a bit bruised from Knuckles' slap earlier) and Tails chose a dark blue bedroom with glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the walls, all accompanied by an extravagant space ship. Knuckles, having been the last one picked, chose the only room available: a boring bright brown room with a single salamander slithering up the wall. All the rooms contained a bathroom, queen sized beds and a TV set.

Sam the hedgehog allowed herself to flop upon the cushioned bed, arms spread out across the bed. Flower immediately joined her. Both sighed as they felt themselves get comfortable. "Ah, the effects of a good bed," Sam breathed.

"Uh-huh," Flower answered, mimicking Sam's position.

Both girls quieted down as they allowed themselves to sink into relaxation. Both glanced over at one another. "So…this is what an amusement park is like?" Sam asked.

"We're in a hotel," Flower pointed out.

"I know," the funny hedgehog replied. "I'm just looking forward to riding on all the rides and playing all the games."

Flower sat up. "You've never been to an amusement park!?"

Sam shook her head. "This is my first time."

Flower smiled. "I loooovve amusement parks. They are so much fun!"

"It does look promising. Hmm. Flower, what should we do first when we actually get to be in the park?"

Before Flower could answer, a terrified scream ran through the hallway outside. The girls jumped, startled, but then dashed out of their room and straight to the source; a room to the left of Sam's and Flower's room. A man in a neat white uniform lied on the ground, looking as though he'd seen a ghost. Sonic, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Tails, and Knuckles were right by his side.

"Mister, is there something wrong?" Cream asked.

"You can tell us," Sonic added. "We'll help you."

The man, looking young and barely reassured, stood shakily to his feet. "Why?" he muttered. "W-w-why haven't they told me of this?"

"Why hasn't who told you what?" Amy tried. She waved her hand under the man's unblinking stare. When the worker didn't respond, Amy shivered. "Tell us please!"

But the man paid her no attention and walked past the heroes and down the lengthy stairs. Our heroes turned to one another in confusion. "What was that all about?" Sam blurted out.

"Hey guys," Flower called out from the right. "The door is glowing."

Sure enough, the group turned to the door that the man was near and it was indeed glowing. An eerie green glow shone from the cracks of the door. Murmurs and whispers seemed to give the door an almost lofty evil, concealed behind the wood. The friends huddled together as the air grew cold. Cream, her Chao and Flower whimpered. Knuckles even let out a silent whimper of his own. Sonic's eyes were wide, afraid and curious at the same time. The hedgehog searched his friends' eyes asking what he should do but everyone shrugged. Sonic reached his hand out and knocked at the door.

"BWA HA HA HA HA!" howled the voice behind the door. The friends screamed as they grabbed one another's hands- it didn't matter whose, they could be in serious danger! They ran down the hallway, down the stairs, into the lobby, panting from all of the running they done and now had people staring at them with curious eyes. The receptionist was the most surprised.

"Oh my goodness what happened?" she was by the heroes' side instantly. For a moment no one could answer her. At last Tails spoke. "The door near Sam and Flower's room-" The hedgehog and fox waved to indicate who they are- "it's glowing and-and-"

"We think it's haunted!" the usually calm echidna shouted. The curious crowd turned exceptionally inquisitive. The receptionist noticed the unwanted the attention the heroes were attracting and led them into her small office. "Now, let's start from the beginning," she tried again.

Suddenly a green light flooded the room, enveloping the friends whole. Then the light died away just as quickly as it began. Everyone looked calm but confused, especially the receptionist. "What are you doing in my office?"

"I was gonna ask the same thing," Sonic commented.

"Chao chao chao," Cheese spoke.

"You're right Cheese, we should go to the amusement park." Cream remembered.

The atmosphere became heated with excitement. "What're we waiting for then? Let's go!" Sam the hedgehog was back and ready to have fun. The others shared her enthusiasm and charged out the room, positive feeling returning to their faces. The receptionist exited as well and returned to her desk. The office was empty just as quick as it was full. A thin book collapsed soundlessly on the floor. A whisper of what was yet to come...


	12. Aaaahhh Oooohhh

Unknown location

"Good," an ancient voice cooed. "Good good, very good…" Clawed white hands flew over a magnificent pale crystal ball, piercing eyes deciphering the expressions on the entire hotel staff. When he spoke, hints of color shimmered in his mouth- King Boom Boo, the king of ghosts! The old spirit switched locations from the hotel to the amusement park. The faces; he recognized them all. He could name every single person in the hotel (including Harold Wesley Geffory Jr., the man he scared ssoo badly. It's not his fault the man was new to the hotel business. Geez!) The king felt something else too, familiar auras smacking his sense around of his old enemies, quite possibly enemies he encountered before…

"Your highnesssss," a ghost minion hissed. The king stopped and turned. "I've newssss you mussst hear."

The big ghost turned his back to the crystal ball. "Good. Is it about the new…victims of the park?"

The smaller spirit nodded. "Yesss, your majesssty. Do you recall a blue hedgehog?"

The king nodded.

"What about a yellow fox?"

The king frowned. "His name is…"

"Tailssss, your majesssty," he helps.

"Thank you and yes I do."

"A pink hedgehog?"

"Sounds somewhat familiar."

"Cream the Rabbit and Cheessssse the Chao?"

"No."

"Ssssamantha the hedgehog and Flower Fox."

He frowned. "Who are they?"

"I do not know myssself your majesssssty," the messenger ghost admits. "But I heard them talking with one another. Sssamantha is a clossse friend of Ssssonic the Hedgehog."

"The blue hedgehog?"

"Correct."

Boo paused as he took in the new information. "I see. Is there anything else I should know?"

"There issss but one more person your majessssty."

"Well, spit out it out already!"

"A red echidna called Knucklesss."

"Hmmm… that name does not ring a bell. Did I meet that person in Chicago?"

The spirit shook his head. "We've never been to Chicago."

"Oh!" He remembered. "That's right! Then who could that fellow be?" The king gave up thinking, (yes that fast) and shouted. "Servant! Bring me my Crystal Ball!"

"Sttteeeeick!" answered another ghost, this one looking slightly insane; his eyes were wide and spelled "I've got a sick obsession!" In this case it was- "Steeeecik! Steeeiiicck!"

King Boo waved his hand away. "Yes yes you'll have your stick but first-" he motions for the crystal ball seated comfortably in the ghost's non existent arms. The stick ghost hands the item to the king without question. He looked at him with pleading eyes. "Stttteeeeick?" he asks.

The king motions for a new servant to come and hand the now over-the-top ghost an old chewed up stick. As the crazy ghost exits the room with his new prize, the messenger ghost says, "That wasss a clossse call earlier."

"Indeed." Boo agrees. "It is a good thing I had my 'forget you saw/heard/whatever power'."

"It issss very usssseful your majessssty," the ghost declares.

"Yes, now if you don't mind…"

The small ghost bows and disappears out of the area, leaving the king to his work. The king stares at his crystal ball once more (he knew it was near his body but well, let's face it; being a ghost can make you very lazy). Within the glass he changed the view from the hotel to random parts of the amusement park. He spotted a couple of the Sonic characters, but only one caught his interest.

The big ghost whistled low. She looks a bit strange he thought. But boy is she gorgeous in her own way. Suddenly he had an idea. He summoned his ghosts, all ready to answer his orders. King Boom Boo smiled like the Cheshire Cat as he gave his orders to his ghosts.

At the end of the day

It was around early evening and everyone was tired. Even the younger ones and they weren't afraid to admit it. So after a couple of hours full of excitement and prizes (and loads of cotton candy), they headed into the hotel dining room where they had dinner and now the majority of the friends were in their rooms getting ready for bed. Knuckles however wasn't ready to go to sleep yet; he couldn't help but think of the events that happened just before they entered the exciting world of roller coasters and stuffed animals.

Something strange happened; what happened Knuckles doesn't know but he did remember how strange the event was. It is about as strange as a goose in a ballet tutu; it is about as strange as the thought of him going on a date with Rouge, (wait did he just think that? So much for vacation…); it is about as strange as-

"Mommy! Mommmmy? Where are you?" The sound of a child calling for her mommy so late at night. Knuckles, despite being tired of rowdy children, decided that helping a child out is the right thing to do. So up he went off his bed to the hallway where he found nobody there. "Moommmmy, I'm scared…" The voice whimpered, and it was coming from that door with the green glow surrounding it.

Knuckles shuddered at the strange déjà-vu soaring through his body; for some reason that door just terrified him. The echidna sighed in exasperation. Perhaps Sonic-

Loud snores erupted from Sonic and Tails's room. Knuckles sighed again. He really did not want to go in there but- "Mommmyyy!" the child sounded close to tears. Auto pilot was engaged as Knuckles acted on impulse, using impressive force to punch the door wide open. Before him ghosts of shapes and sizes; square ghosts, circle ghosts, big ghosts and small ghosts all mixed into one blob of spirits. Knuckles felt himself go paralyzed so he couldn't move and speechless to the point where he was almost mute. Then King Boom Boo appeared, sticking his tongue out for all to see. Rainbows flooded in plagued his mind, the evil laugh echoing his mind. Again. And again.

QOTS: Any ideas for challenging puzzles? Example: Mazes, memorization, etc.

Barely a few minutes later, a sleepwalking Sonic knocked on Knuckles's door. "Knucklehead? Knuckles!" He lazily called. "I want a bed time story please… ¡Abra la puerta por favor!"

Sam appeared in the hallway. "Sonic what are you doing speaking Spanish so late at night?"

Sonic woke to the sound of Sam's voice. "¿Eh? I mean uh, wha-?" Sonic was confused. "Oh hi Sam," he acknowledges giving a sheepish wave. "What's going on?"

"I could say the same to you," Sam replies leaning against the wall. "You sleepwalk a lot?"

"Sometimes," he answers carefully, slightly embarrassed to be caught in the act. Then he clears his throat. "I wonder what Knucklehead is up to since he's sleeping alone for the next few days."

Sam placed her hands on her hips. "Sonic, he's Knuckles." The blue hedgehog opened his mouth to reply but Sam gasped; she noticed something. "The door's wide open."

Sonic too noticed just as Sam had and raised an eyebrow. Taking a quick peek in the bedroom, he noticed the sheets messy, blankets tossed around…and no Knuckles. "Knux?" Sonic calls. "Knucklehead, you there?" No answer. Sonic whirled around to find Sam giving him a strange look. "It's happened before."

"The Knucklehead's not answering you?"

"Yeah, but this time he's not even here." Sonic's voice held slight concern, but no clues can be traced on his countenance. The purple hedgehog wasn't sure but she's never seen Sonic like this; a sure sign something's terribly wrong. Sonic made his way over to Knuckles's messy bed and his hands flew over the covers scavenging every which way. Nothing.

Sonic ceased searching and drew a deep breath. Sam knew that Sonic taking a deep breath was code for extreme frustration. Something was definitely wrong. "I'll go get the others," she volunteered instantly as she ran as fast as she could to the others' rooms. Sonic made no attempt to stop her.

-O-

Minutes later, the friends all gathered in the narrow hallway, now pouring into the doorway to Knuckles's room. Tails snatched his handheld machine from his back pocket and let the orange beam scan the bed. The little machine picked up no trace of anything red or Knuckles. "Any sign of him?" a worried blue hedgehog questions.

One look from Tails was enough to answer. Sonic went into the hallway where the friends remained; Sam, Flower, Amy, Cream, Cheese now Sonic scouted the hallway of anything that could provide a hint. Everyone sighed; this was getting them nowhere. They can't find Knuckles like this. Hmm…

"BEEEEEPPPP!" screeched Tail's handheld machine, startling everyone nearby. The little machine bounced out of Tails's hands after scaring him so abruptly. Flower, the only person unfazed, calmly walked over to the room, reached down and shut the device off. Silence followed the invisible sigh of relief from the people who heard the sound. The friends stared at the little black fox who overshadowed the machine in a cautious yet curious way.

"What?" the fox became aware of the friends' gazes.

"Is there anything you can't do Flower?" Sam compliments.

Flower shrugged. "I dunno, but I made it-" points to the little machine- "stop screaming." Flower picked it up and examined the magical properties of technology. The machine made a buzzing noise and Tails immediately shared Flower's gaze on it. "What's it doin' Tails?"

"I…I don't know," Tails shook his head. The yellow fox noticed that Flower had her tiny finger on a blue button, pressed. The machine stopped whining. Flower smiled. "Hey, hey hey it's all quiet today."

Sam snickers understanding the reference. The little smart black fox examined the machine, then gasped when the device roared to life, arrows and letters scrambled all over the screen. Flower turned to Tails for guidance. The other fox picked up the machine from Flower's hand. Then grinned.

Everyone waited for his answer but there came none. "Tails, is there something wrong?" Cream finally asks.

Tails snapped out of whatever strange trance he was in and nodded. "Yeah it's just… Knuckles is at a location that is…not the sort that would scare us."

"Yeah? And where's that?" Sonic quizzed.

Tails swallowed. "The room with the green light that is where Knuckles may be located."

No one wanted to go into the green room; something about it seemed very off and off in a way that cannot be described as off but off as in evil and odd. Sonic and his friends may have fought dangerous foes in the past but the green door is the real true test of courage. Did they have a choice? Well if you're more like Sonic, there was no choice; friends mean a lot to Sonic especially his close friends like Knuckles. Yeah, Knuckles wasn't his "bestest friend in the whole wide world" but still part of the reason why Sonic and the great majority of his friends are here is because of Knuckles and his strength. They cannot escape adversities without Knuckles's assistance.

So after some quick pep talks with one another (especially Cream and Flower), everyone was ready to go. Pretty soon they were all outside of the door with the green glow. They stood. Then Tails knocked at the door.

No answer. "Well, that didn't work," Sam interrupts the silence and she turned away. Everyone flashed a strange look. Sam whirled back to the friends. "What? I was just joking. Besides I could shape-shift into something and break the door down."

No one objected. Sam then molded then shaped her body until she was a giant hairy leg. The leg swung back and once the blow was prepared flashed forward and kicked the door with so much force that the hinges obliterated. The door soars through the air then crashed into a wall, a large crack forming at the center. With no time to lose our heroes went in.

All was dark and quiet inside, strangely the room was not green at all. Every bit and piece of furniture looked nicely neat and arranged with the floral pattern chairs against the wall, a miniature TV on a wooden stand, a king-sized bed with black and white polka dots and the walls colored a light brown. The friends frowned; this is definitely not the room they are expecting. The silence proved to be just as eerie as the green glow from behind the door.

"Surprise!" All concealed noise erupted from everywhere, the floral pattern chair, within the TV set, and the light brown walls, just everywhere. Everyone huddled together. Everyone that is but Sonic who decided that homing attacking the ghosts (who appeared shortly after). Soon everyone was brawling, doing the best to their abilities to kick butt. Even Cream and Cheese who don't fight. Usually.

Then everything within the place was trashed; the floral pattern chair, the TV set and did I mention the light-

"STEEEIIIICCK!" (Ooops, looks like the Stick Ghost is not very happy with me. I'll go on with the story like normal… I have a floral chair like that in my room.)

Now where was I? Oh yeah. Destruction and fighting everywhere, each opposing side determined to win the fight when suddenly-

"Stop!" a loud ancient voice halted all the activity. Time stopped. No literally time actually stopped; the frozen figures used their no-so-frozen eyes to track down who made them stop. Emerging from the depths of the king-sized bed was King Boom Boo himself. "I cannot believe we are setting our unsettling disputes with such savage destruction. Honestly do you think that I am like that? Well I most certainly am not!" The large ghost waved his tubby finger at the heroes. He crossed his arms then went on. "None of my ghosts are like that I can well well WELL assure you! In fact…"

The king rambled on; frozen eyes turned into downright confusion. Who is that ghost exactly? Why was he larger than all the other ghost? Why is he acting sophisticated? Wait, did he just say he was king through all the rambling? And where is he keeping Knuckles? If he was here. The frozen eyes reconcentrated their frozen eyes upon this 'king'.

"It is a good thing I froze you all when I did," he was saying, "Otherwise the monstrous battle will quickly turn to chaos!" He shuddered at the word. His odd eyes sized up our heroes. "Now what to do with you all…"

A muffled scream shouted throughout the room. A few ghosts were startled by this but the king reached calmly down through the floor to reveal a tied up, duck taped-on-the-mouth, red echidna.

The frozen eyes widened. If the friends could speak, they would be shouting "KNUCKLES!" and maybe something like "What the heck happened to ya knucklehead?"But they could do none of that so they 'said' all of that.

King Boom Boo placed Knuckles on his palm. "This," he hissed, "is my new female prisoner."

Everyone's- even the ghosts' eyes- popped wide open as they stared at the king, the ghosts with a look of disbelief on their expressions. While the ghosts had no comeback to make, the heroes had plenty of questions to ask. And laughs to howl. Knuckles stopped struggling (if he were doing so already), and stared at the king with a look of shock and annoyance. No one said a word.

King Boo who dislikes silence unfreezes the heroes' mouths. As soon as Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Sam, and Flower can speak, they all laughed. And laughed. And laughed. "Oh my God, you think Knuckles is a girl!?" Sam wheezed, tears flying out of her eyes. That statement alone was enough to increase the loud laughing fit.

The large ghost, not at all expecting this reaction, opened his mouth to say something but shut it just as quick when the giggling ensured. Sonic tried taking heavy deep breaths in between each laugh. "Mrs. Knucklehead!" He cackled.

Knuckles's face turned as red as his fur in a solid mixture of anger and embarrassment. Perhaps confusion too. Meanwhile King Boo was rather flustered in the drama of it all. This echidna? He grabbed Knuckles's legs and turned him over. This one? The King examined him but could see no difference. A boy? You might call him stupid but this ghost has been living among the spirits in the shadow of the mortal world for many many years; he… sort of forgot how to tell the difference. Besides how was he supposed to know which gender Knuckles is? The long hair threw him off. The ghost tried explaining his reasoning but the heroes didn't hear nor did they care.

After a few more minutes of continuous laughter, the King of ghosts grew angry. A blue fireball sparked in his hand and he threw that blue fireball with all his might toward the unsuspecting heroes. Gasp. Then silent they became but the ghost did not stop there. "If you ever want to see the light of day or the color of nature," he growled. "You would do exactly what I want you to do… compete for your friend's life as well as yours." His expression hardened.

"What exactly do we have to do?" Tails asks.

"That is for my ghost manger to decide," Boom Boo motions for one of the ghosts to step forward.

"I'll make this short an' quick so listen up!" The female rapidly spoke with a nasally voice. "Y'all are gonna solve as many puzzles as His Majesty wants ya to an' y'all haveta move fast. Everyone will be in the most random locations we possess. Readysetgo!"

Before the friends knew it, an invisible force lifted them off their feet and placed them right in the middle of the maze; the heroes did not know that of course; their only concern is to find a way out of the maze. Sam and Amy glanced from this way to that. Sonic, Tails and Cream were gone! It was just Tails, Sam and Flower all huddled in a small group.

"Don't be alarmed my prisoners," King Boom Boo's voice rang out, echoing seemingly from everywhere. The girls exchange very shocked looks as they scanned the area for anything resembling the king. "For your friends are in neither remote nor far places. They are in my world now as are you. Don't worry though if you successfully accomplish these puzzles, then you may leave this place unharmed along with… that person." The king mutters something incoherently about how androgynous people are. He cleared his throat and went on. "If however all of you, even some of you fail, you are my servants for eternity. Any questions? None? Good, now please do have fun." A low cackling was heard then fades away into the shadows.

Flower clutched at Sam's waist. "What do we do Sam?" she worriedly asks.

The purple hedgehog shakes her head as a way of fighting a mini mental panic attack she was having. She opened her mouth to reply but no words came out. Thankfully Tails sensed it and came to the rescue.

"For now all we can do is find a way out of the maze and hope everyone else is doing okay. Besides puzzles are my specialities." Tails reassured the black fox. Flower smiled as she felt relief soar through her entire body and Tails- her Tails- was touching her shoulder. Flower sighed.

Tails's words- as well as Flower's reaction- gave Sam new hope. And an idea. She shape-shifted into a bird flying up up up to the top. But instead collided into the invisible wall at the top of the maze. She fell down down down right in front of the foxes.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Boom's voice returned. "You thought that it will be that easy. Puh-lease, if it were so, you'd be out by now, minus the panicking all of you were doing earlier."

"You can see us?" Flower questions.

"And hear and smell and yes my dear see. If any of you are cheating-not allowed by the way, - I will know and I will find the most appropriate punishment for you. No person has ever escaped my world with cheating. We are very very big on sportsmanship around here."

"You keep saying 'your world'," Sam notes. "Where are we exactly?"

"My world, the spirit world of the ghosts. I am the only one who can transport you in and out. I am the one who rules all. Anyone who says otherwise is automatically my servant for eternity, sincerely King Boom Boo."

That was the end of that; the three then took a deep breath and set off to escape the madness they are put in…

-o-

Sonic was walking down a narrow hallway, scanning the walls nervously. He had no idea where he is or how he got here. All he knew was that his friends were somewhere and he had to get them out by any means possible. The hallway went on and on for seemingly forever so Sonic ran. Still the hallway went on. The blue hedgehog frowned; he can't let the hallway anger him. He's been through worse after all.

But this hallway- no matter how fast Sonic ran, it was all the exact same thing: the glowing green walls with matching floors. It was time to switch tactics. Sonic stopped. He thought up as many options as he could but none seemed right. He pondered some more. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a light green frog sneaking up on him. The frog wore flight clothes with a white scarf, brown boots, gloves and knee pads and baggy shirt and pants which are also brown. His overstretched grin spelled insanity. His name is Flying Frog and his catchphrase is-

"Aaaaaa-ooooohhh!"

Sonic bounced from where he was standing. He landed on his feet and a weird look planted on his face. "What the heck? Don't sneak up on me like that!"

The frog came closer. Sonic took a few steps back. "Meee? No. The boss? Yes. Can you plaaay with me-hee-hee?"

Sonic kept on backing away into the depths of the hallway still the frog followed. "Who... are you?"

Flying Frog points to himself. "I am Flying Frog, and I was sent to find you and I have so you must come, come with me-see-gee."

As Sonic thought of ways to respond, a ghost flew right into his face. Sonic stood limp with his posture slightly bent. Then he straightened himself up and opened his eyes. They resembled the ghost's empty eyes. "Aaaaaaa-ohhhhh!"

Meanwhile

Sam, Flower and Tails couldn't find a way out. They were stuck. The three did their best but nothing appears to be working. Now the three friends sat against the see through walls in frustration over their huge lack of progress.

"What are we going to do?" Flower wonders. "There is no way out of the maze! We've tried everything but nothing works!" Flower cupped her face and sobbed.

As Sam attempted to soothe the fox, Tails sorted through his mind on an option- any- option to solve the puzzle. They tried feeling the walls to get an idea of where to go, they marked the places they have been to with Sam's feathers (when Sam turned into a bird thus is why she stands),- nothing literally nothing works! How difficult is this to find a way out of a maze? Wait a minute-

A thought stuck Tails: What if King Boom Boo himself is cheating, twisting the maze with every single turn in every possible way to ensure they remain with him forever? But that sounded ridiculous; the king himself said that sportsmanship is most emphasized here; no way could the King be cheating. That is most unlikely yet it was most possible at the same time. Hmm…

The yellow fox notices that the area became quiet; Tails turned around; Sam and Flower were gone. Then before the fox could speak- let alone begin to process what was happening, a door popped open underneath him and he was falling. Tails tried flying but for some reason his tails wouldn't work, so down, down he fell. Tails couldn't scream not even if he wanted to; he was far too busy trying to get his tails to work. The ground!

Tails covered his eyes with his hands and concentrates on making his tails work. He felt the tails spring to life; he hovered and gently landed on his feet. They yellow fox took a deep breath then took a look at his surroundings; the first color he saw: purple. Purple everywhere. Plum trees underground resembled bits of coral deep in the sea; lilac lakes no bigger than an average swimming pool in various parts of the area; amethyst shrubs; and a vibrant rainbow castle in a vast distance.

Tails felt many emotions at once; caution since there was a random castle in the middle of wherever he was; anxiety since he has no idea where he is; and really truly very nervous. Who knows what evils he may run into; if Sonic were here, he wouldn't feel so afraid. Tails learned that lesson long ago; he cannot depend on Sonic or anyone forever, he's got to do some things himself. Saving the day for instance can be quite nerve wracking. I've got to try the fox thought. I know I can do this myself! For Sonic and everyone!

With new found determination he set off. Little did he know that he was being watched... carefully.


	13. Clouds Taste Like Cotton Candy

Note: Sergeant Simon is based off the Archie Sonic Sergeant Simian. The names are similar I know and that's why I left the message: to claim I do not own the character. He is for entertainment purposes only. All rights reserved

Tis the unknown location located elsewhere

"This was not part of the deal!" frustration erupted from the black night cloak completely covering the figure- also known as "The Boss." He crushed random objects in proximity with quick punches and feet, all the while murmuring orders to those who worked for him. Everyone was afraid of him in his serious mental state. Everyone but two people; one is a red fox currently applying her makeup while another is a large brown gorilla; he quietly observed the Boss, eyeing the black emerald; he knew that whatever happened in the all-seeing crystal was causing the boss's frustration but what though he didn't know.

The gorilla was five feet tall, with light blue eyes and large palms. He wore green camouflage pants, heavy green combat boots, and a turtle shaped helmet laid on his head prominently. A bandolier swung on his right shoulder, fully of red-headed ammo. His expression was stern and hard, huge muscles complimenting his appearance: a prime example of a disciplined solider. His name is Sergeant Simon

He needn't wait long for The Boss calmed down long enough to think clearly. He noticed Simon almost right away. "Sergeant Simon! How long you been here man?"

"You have summoned me sir," Simon is direct and assertive. "How can I assist you General?"

'The Boss' glared right into the black emerald. "That king of ghosts broke the deal. He was supposed to kidnap Sam, not the red echidna!" His voice tone changed just as quick as he regained his composure. He turned to the gorilla. "Think you can teach 'im a lesson in not messin' with me?"

The gorilla lifted his right foot up and slammed it on the ground. "Sir yes sir!"

"I can't hear you," the Boss learned long ago that this was the way Sergeant Simon preferred to address answer; he just went along with it.

"Sir yes sir!"

"Good! Forward march!" The gorilla marched out of sight before you could count to one.

"Now where did Fi go?" The boss murmured to himself as he marched himself down the long hallway.

Le castle

The trapped 'female prisoner' laid on the floor, tied up on the surprisingly dirty floor of a dark deep dungeon. Or at least that's what it seems like it is (was that a plump masked dungeon ghost right there?). A startled gasp escaped the echidna's throat when he realized Cream was right beside him unconscious along with Cheese who woke up right as Knuckles's eyes pierced the two.

Cheese blinked. "Chao chao chao?" he asked.

Knuckles shrugged. "Dunno little buddy." He had no idea what the Chao said but he was pretty sure he asked where they were. His gaze fell to Cream who actually looked well, not a scratch to be found. Thank goodness. "Mind waking Cream for me?"

The little bow-tied Chao nodded and gently shook the small rabbit's head. Cream yawned, stretched her arms for a moment and scanned her surroundings. She was surprised and confused to find herself in a dungeon-like setting (who was that ghost wearing all black like an executioner?). Her relief arrived however when she spotted Knuckles. "Mr. Knuckles, thank goodness you are here. But...where are we?" the rabbit felt unsure how to respond to the situation.

"I don't know," Knuckles replies as evenly as he could. He stole a quick look on the area. "But we have to get out of here."

"How will we do that Mr. Knuckles?"

The echidna didn't answer and instead pulled his arm back as far as his body would allow it and sent his fist slicing through the air, colliding with the bars, sending them flying and hitting the ground with a chorus of cling! No more bars for them. Knuckles glanced over at Cream, a serious expression pasted on his face. "Stay close to me," he commanded."I have a feeling there is more to this place than meets the eye."

"But you managed to break the bars down."

"That's what I'm worried about."

Meanwhile

"AAAAHHHHH!" Tails screamed running and swirling his tails behind him as fast as he possibly could; barely ten feet from where he set forth and already trouble rose. Chasing the fox via air was Flying Frog, the nutcase.

"Aaaaaaa-ooohhhh!" His battle cry rang for all to hear. Slowly the lime-colored frog lowered and lowered himself to the anxious fox until he was hovering directly over Tails. The fox noticed and rolled himself into a ball skidding right into a tree, Flying Frog into the nearest branch in failure for concluding his act.

"Owie owie ow ow," he mumbled though he didn't sound hurt at all. He stretched his grin upon his face as Tails got to his feet. The fox then proceeded backing away.

"Don't hurt me," he begged. "I don't know what you want but chasing me won't accomplish anything."

Flying Frog hopped from the branch to the base of the tree where Tails was. "Hurt you? No no not here for that, bat, cat, zat. I just want to have a question, session."

"And you chased me just to tell me that?" So baffling the frog's speech and actions provided for the poor sidekick; his behavior gave the fox a good old fashioned Christmas present of the creeps. Conversing with a madman- or in this case mad frog- is never best nor safe idea for anyone to attempt. Regardless Tails determined that the best course of action is to stay right where he is. The mad frog may give him some background on what's going on. "What do you want to ask me?"

"Weather or not you know where your friends are par schmar."

"I don't- wait. Did you say weather when the question should have started with whether?"

Flying Frog placed his thumb under his chin and hmmmed. "Maybeeeeee, but then again I may be referring how the weather is. Pretty gloomy, hm?"

The fox knew that by this point arguing about the rules of grammar is not going to get neither him nor the creepy frog anywhere, so he said, "I have to go find my friends..."

Tails had no chance to finish his excuse because he felt a giant strong hand over his head, enveloping his face. "Forward march," growled a new voice to a new owner.

Flying Frog's eyes lightened. "Oooohhh I just remembered my question mention." He made his way over to Tails's blanketed face. "Didja know that there is a brown monkey right behind you and he's after what I'm schmafter?"

The fox muffled out an incoherent answer. "What's that? Didn't hear it," the frog sang.

"Forward march," the same voice commanded.

Flying Frog saluted, the crazy grin remained on his wide jaw line. "Okey dokey."

0000000

Weee-hoooo! Weeee-hooooo! Rang sirens on the police cars as they pursued a blue hedgehog. Lights sprinkled and colored the city as the hero ran up, down and diagonally on the buildings. He had no idea how he got here or where he is but he needed to get out of here.

Weeeee-hhooooo! Weeee-hooo!

His friends. King Boom Boo's world. They had to be somewhere here.

Weeee-hhooo! Weeeee-hoooo!

Yet what if they weren't? What happened to them? Flower, Knuckles (Or should he say Mrs. Knuckles, haha), Amy Cream, Cheese and Tails. Sam…

Weeeee-hhooooo! Weeee-hooo!

Reality slapped the hero in the face as he pressed on, more determined to find his friends as opposed to finding a way out. If there is a way out. Up the building he ran, attempting to throw the cops' trail off. Alas the helicopters awaited his arrival and opened fire.

Rat-at-at-atatatat

Sonic dodged these bullets in a one single back flip. "Is that all ya got?" he taunted. "Boredom's gonna kill me much sooner than you guys will."

The police responded with continuous firing. The blue hedgehog somersaulted from his spot then sprang his infamous surplus mega jump. Before Sonic could wonder how in the world he jumped that high, his head rammed right into something. Something metal. The hero's hands flew to his head as he howled in pain. The Earth appeared before the hedgehog's vision as he fell farther and farther down. Everything happened so fast and yet so slow as the hedgehog changed in a different direction, now falling to the left. The hedgehog could care less what's happening right now for he had an ear-splitting headache overcame his common sense. Then nothing.

The hero steadily lifted his hands from his face and was quite surprised when he discovered he was not dead but instead surrounded by ghosts. They whispered excited whispers then disappeared into nothingness. I must've hit my head harder than I thought… Sonic thought as he drifted to unconsciousness.

00000

Sam found Flower. Flower found Sam. They were both at the amusement park. The two embraced. "Flower you're okay!"

Flower pushed herself from Sam and grinned. "So are you."

Sam daintily placed a finger on her chin and too smiled. "Why thank you."

Flower giggled then gasped. Sam frowned. "What's the matter, someone big and mean is behind me?"

The black fox nodded so quick that she can easily be compared to a bobble head. Sam turned around as the area fell into dead silence; standing grave was Sergeant Simon. The purple hedgehog could not scream only choke out barely inaudible sounds at the back of her throat.

"Your choice, girls," the monkey said. "You can either come with me or you may stay and ride the Farris wheel as much as you please."

"The second option sounds-"

"Permanently." The single word, simple yet powerful, admitted from the monkey's throat. Both friends saw the double meaning behind the word. Flower took a glance from Sam who looked unusually calm despite the sudden arrival of the brute. The little fox opened her mouth to say something only to find Sam shape-shift into a balloon.

"We'll take our chances," her helium voice breathed. Flower took off, catching up to Sam. The two flew up into the skies, an angry monkey glaring up at their decision. In fact his eyes never left them, yet he made no attempt to halt their progress in the wide open skies.

The girls reached the clouds. Flower marveled at the cotton water-like feel at her fingertips. One moment a cloud. Next nothing. "This is so so cool," she exhaled. Turning her head to Sam's direction, she adds, "I wonder what they taste like."

Sam had her eyes glued to the clouds but answered. "Me too. I bet they taste like cotton candy."

"Really?"

The purple hedgehog dove herself straight into the fluffiness of the sugar white clouds a mouth wide open! She swallowed the clouds in one gulp. How open her eyes were. "IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE!" Sam cart wheeled, somersaulted in the air in pure joy. Flower repeated Sam's action and shouted in happiness.

"IT'S SO FLUFFFFFYYY!" the fox wailed. Sam tossed a weightless cloud at her shoulder. Flower got her game face on….then echoed Sam's action. Pretty soon the two were in a cloud fight, similar to tag, only whoever was it wasn't it for long. They laughed, shouted, and howled in utmost delight. This is by far the most wonderful time they have had thus far in their lives.

Then it all went downhill. Sergeant Simon appeared in a jet black jet and shot long jet black missiles. The two yelped in surprise and barely barely barely dodged in time. The monkey had his determined face on. He opened fire once more; Flower squeaked and ducked. Sam grabbed her hand, shape shifted into a five hundred pound weight and had both her and Flower tumbling toward Earth.

After a momentary shock, the sergeant raced after them, shooting machine gun bullets at the girls. Flower countered the blows by swirling her tails rapidly, letting the bullets strike her robotic clink clink! Before the young fox knew it, the Earth was centimeters below. Flower screamed. Simon fired. Sam transformed into a parachute and the two landed gracefully.

But it was not over yet. The monkey took one last fire aimed right at Sam's feet. The girls jumped back as debris seemingly floated everywhere, revealing a medium-sized hole leading to… a dungeon? (What's with the executioner ghost hovering around in the air?) Before Sam had a chance to think about their options, Flower leaped into the whole, leaving Sam no choice but to follow. Sergeant Simon trailed after them. "You can't hide forever!" he shouted into the hole, the echos ricocheting into the ears of the girls. Yet they did not hear.

-0000-

When Sam and Flower reached the bottom, what a surprise they had: Knuckles, Cream, Cheese, Sonic, Tails and Amy fighting one another. They were in an arena setting with ghosts hovering a little in their seats, huzzahing, arms in the air. Everywhere you look you can see purple, black and green all sprinkled on the walls, seats and some of the other ghosts. In the back of the arena laid King Boom Boo laughing at the entertainment presented. Upon the hedgehog's and fox's arrival all activity ceased; angry eyes.

"What in the world is going on here?!" Sam demanded. She pointed her finger at her friends. "And why are you guys fighting each other?"

"In one ear and out the otherrrr," the king sang out his words.

"Huh?"

"They're under my control," the king declared. "They listen to no one else. So in one ear and out the other with other peopleeee. Isn't that great?"

"NO!" the girls yelled, fed up with Boo's tricks.

The large ghost sat up. "No? Why ever not?"

"They're our friends," Flower hollered. "You said if we get to your castle, we can have our friends back!"

King Boo frowned. "That is most certainly not what I said. I said that if all of you solve my puzzles you may leave my world unharmed."

"That's exactly," Sam spoke up. "Why we are here at the castle."

"You think that is the entire puzzle?"

"Yes." No hesitation could be heard from Sam's direct, firm answer.

The king fingered his claws. "Well my dear and my young fox, I regret to inform you that-"

Boooooomm! Huge explosion uncovered the large jet plane of Sergeant Simon, ruthless and serious as ever. Everyone gasped, even the mind controlled comrades. "Sergeant Simon," the king spluttered. "W-what are you doing here? You weren't supposed to come until Thursday."

Jumping out the now landed jet, crushing the solid ground under his solid weight, the monkey straightened his military jacket. "I was sent here. You broke off a deal."

"Oh if that's the rea- What? Me? Break a deal? Good sportsmanship is heavily emphasized around here. No one in my realm-myself included- breaks deals."

"And yet you were about to," Sam mutters under her breath.

"If that's true then that's a promise you have broken," Sergeant Simon spoke calmly. "You were supposed to capture the targets, not toy with them."

Boom gasped as he remembered. "Well I um uh," more sputtering. Meanwhile the once mind controlled friends were free from the ghost's control.

"Where are-" Knuckles began.

"SHHHHH!" hissed the girls. The friends remained silent but confusion rested in their eyes. Sam motioned everyone to huddle up. The friends obeyed.

"We're in King Boom boo's castle-" Sam started.

"We know!" Amy half yelled half whispered. "But why are we here in an arena?"

"You guys were fighting each other-"

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Why?" asks Sonic.

"Just shush and let us explain." Sam huffed.

One story later

"That explains a lot," Tails remarked.

"Not." Sonic mumbled.

"I know I know but we gotta find a way out." Sam was in business mode.

"But how?" Cream asks.

"Aaaaaa-ohhhh!" howled a familiar voice. To some of the characters at least. All eyes turned to the source: Flying Frog.

"You!" Sonic almost shouted.

The frog grinned. "I heard soft voices and had to see for myselffff. I heard all your secrets!"

"And I wanna help," the mad frog added after a pause, not that it would have eased the comrades' suspicion of Flying Frog's true motives.

"How will you do that?" Amy wanted to know.

"Oh no," Sonic waved his hands. "Nonononono. No. We're not seriously considering it."

"What choice do we have?" Sam asks. "If he truly knows the way out-" "I doooo." The frog whispered. - "Then maybe we should ask him."

Every person on the team had their eyes on the mad frog. Then they turned to King Boo, arguing with Sergeant Simon about something. And let's just say that some light blue fire was involved.

00000

How they got out of the world of King Boom Boo is quite unbelievable. Well, not really, but whether or not you buy it is your call. Ready? Okay.

They jumped. And they jumped. And they jumped until a hole appeared on the ground. As soon as they jumped into the hole, the team found themselves in their own beds. Not at the hotel but at the mansion. The only person not present is Flying Frog himself. Just like the question of whether or not ghosts exist is similar to your questioning whether or not that one dream you had is real or not. Especially if the dream seems like it could happen in real life.

Only Flying Frog, Sergeant Simon and The Boss know what happened. And as Flying Frog and Sergeant Simon (mostly Sergeant Simon) recalled the events, the Boss remained silent. Even after the two finished talking the Boss kept quiet. Then he waved his hand indicting the two to leave. Once the frog and gorilla were outside the Boss's chamber, Flying Frog jumped from the floor to the wall, crawling. Sergeant Simon watched, his blue burned arms giving him a streak of color.


	14. What She Learned From Experience

** *Rewritten***

Sam sat at the balcony, whittling new figurine statues of her friends. She paused. Maybe a little more off the edge- the knife swiped to the left, a large piece of wood dropped to the ground. She admired her craft. Then realized she unknowingly shaped this figure of her infamous jerkish ex-boyfriend. "Scourge..." Sam mumbled through her teeth. That two-timing green hedgehog that was the reason of Sam's reluctance to remain single. And to preserve herself for a certain blue hedgehog. If it weren't for Amy Rose's possessive nature with Sonic, Sam would have said something. Or at the very least done something. And Amy is not the only reason why.

Sam glared down at the figurine of Scourge as a memory sparked her mind, telling a story she does not want to remember.

_Sam was in high school, walking directly to her locker. Twisting, turning to the combinations, A click open. Everything was neatly organized in their own separate places; textbooks on the right and all Sam's notebooks of random drawings and diary entries she writes in rather frequently._

_At least that was how it was all supposed to look. Sam noticed something out of place almost immediately and plucked it from the unwanted spot; it was a paper eight times folded with neat cursive addressed to her._

_In Sam's school, notes are passed all the time, whether it's written via paper or sent via text message. It seemed that all the students preferred notes/messages over face-to-face. Sam was among the exception of these rare students. She should be lucky she guesses, no one is cyber bullying her. Or going to._

_Sam opens the letter and reads it silently to herself._

Hey Sammy,

Wanna go for a swing by the coolest club today after school? Meet me by the bleachers outside of the gym. Can't wait to see ya

-Scourge

_Sam stared at the letter. Scourge? Who is that? Whoever he was, he is asking her out. But Sam had no idea who Scourge is or why he wanted to hang out with her, but…_

_Sam stuffed the note in her pocket, scooped up the textbooks she needed for her next class and set off._

GRGRG

_For the first time in her life, Sam found herself wishing school would continue. The purple hedgehog couldn't help it; the thought of going out with a complete stranger made_

_Sam's stomach feel as though it were full of rocks. She is not quite ready to meet this 'Scourge' so she was hoping that it wasn't just that last bell of the day. It was._

_Sam gulped, carefully placed her books in her backpack and strolled out of the classroom to the gym, barely a hop and skip away. Butterflies bumped into the sides of Sam's stomach, making her feel like she could throw up any moment. Sam didn't feel ready at this point so she leaned against the sides of the bleachers and waited for the feeling to subside. She focused with all her will and heart on not hyperventilating. Much._

_"Hey." Said a voice as smooth as silk._

_Sam jumped feet from the ground, whirling around to see the owner of the voice. It was a green hedgehog with pink sunglasses perched at the top of his forehead. He wore a black leather jacket and heavy looking combat boots almost igniting flames. He smiled his razor sharp smile at her. Remember when Sam focused on not hyperventilating? Yeah, that guy didn't help and only has himself to blame as Sam mouth erupted with bile. The hedgehog sprang out of the way._

_"Don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed through her throwing up. She attempted to stand herself up and found a peach arm help her. Sam was on her feet instantly. The green hedgehog gazed into her eyes._

_"What…are you doing?" a confused Sam wondered, turning her head to spit the remaining bile from her mouth._

_"Nothing," he replied almost in a haze. "I think ya got the most gorgeous eyes ever."_

_Sam blushed in spite herself. She never gave her eyes a second thought and here that hedgehog was, complimenting her on them. Sam felt an urge to hug the guy but a part of her logical conscious mind stopped her. "I'm looking for someone," she informed the boy in an informative manner._

_"Yeah?"_

_Sam nods._

_The hedgehog examines Sam like he's trying to see her lie. Finally he nods. "I can help ya with that but I need ya ta help me with something first."_

_Sam shook her head. "I-I can't. I'm already waiting for someone…"_

_Now it was the green hedgehog who looked hurt. "Really? That's a darn shame. I was really hoping the answer would be different."_

_Sam raised an eyebrow. "Why?"_

_"I asked a lot of people already. They all refused, said something 'bout having better things to do. You-" and the green hedgehog nods over to Sam to emphasize his point- "seem no different from 'em."_

_Sam blinked. Her? No different from the 'others'? As regretful as Sam is to make that decision she knew that keeping her promise to this 'Scourge' person is important. He would be here any minute now and maybe she can help out the green hedgehog._

_As Sam waited sweeping her head from one direction to the next, the green hedgehog made his way to the exit and Sam halted him by grabbing his arm firm enough to make him stop in his tracks. He looked over at the purple hedgehog confused. Sam's grip did not lessen. "I'll help you," Sam said. "But just for a few minutes, I really really really have to meet up with someone."_

_The green hedgehog grinned. "You're the best babe." Then he whistled._

_Just then a group of motorcycles broke into view, each with a unique character riding; a red fox, a big brown gorilla, a dark green frog, a chocolate brown lynx, and a sour blue hawk each had their own motorcycle ready to rock and roll. The group had determined smiles pasted on their faces. When they noticed Sam, the smiles didn't falter._

_The green hedgehog grinned at Sam, suddenly seeming more intimidating than all the motorcycle fiends combined. "So Sammy, wanna hang with us?"_

_A chill rang down Sam's spine. "I thought-"_

_"Boss," a deep voice rang out. It sounded like it came from the impatient gorilla._

_"Just a moment," the green hedgehog calls out. "Okay Sammy let's beat it."_

_The purple hedgehog had been quiet for quite a while said, "I am going nowhere until you tell me who you are and why you lied to me." She was direct and slightly rude in her tone but Sam didn't care; that was all she could take not knowing what she's getting herself into._

_The hedgehog did not seem even a little taken aback which annoyed Sam. "Lie? Me?" He chuckled a bit like Sam told a joke. "Way I see it, I am actually on time and I made sure to play it cool all though the school day and land a decent hangout time with you."_

_"And just who do you think you are anyways?" Sam demanded._

_Scourge points to his chest. "I am Scourge the Hedgehog. Now should we get going to the place I actually paid good money to get us into or nah?"_

GRGRGRGR

_Sam could not process what was happening. In fact, all of Sam's senses have hijacked because the group of animals on motorcycles (who Sam found out are actually Scourge's team) have arrived at the loudest, brightest, smelliest (not even close to a good way) club ever seen on the face of Mobius._

_It didn't help the fact that Sam saw teenagers in explicit clothing, carrying and spilling bits of clear liquid in the process of dancing and hopping around. Laughter, screaming, and music turned up to the max flooded Sam's eardrums, her eyes clouded with random (but not real) lasers darting this way. That way. Everything about that place made Sam feel the opposite of what a party (or whatever it is they're doing) should be._

_After parking their motorcycles into awkwardly angled motorcycle parking places, Scourge leaped off his vehicle, almost kicking Sam in the shins. He lands on the ground, breaths in the smoke, hacks then grins. "Ahhhh. It's so good to be home, eh guys?"_

_Most of the gang agreed. Fiona however winkled her nose. "No way, how can you ever like a place like this?"_

_"And yet you're here," the purple hedgehog comments._

_Fiona flips her head toward Sam. "Shut up newbie, you're the one who's never been to a real party house."_

_"I hear the manner store is hiring, you might wanna check it out." The entire gang- except Scourge of course- let out an_ ooooohhhhhh.

_"I likeie this girl," Flying Frog says. "Like aaaahh oooohhh!"A few whoops were heard among the crowd of partying people._

_Fiona, unfazed by the comments from the public, speaks. "Oh really? I was gonna give you a nasty look but I see you already have one, girlie."_

_A louder and definitely encouraging _ooooooohhh_ rang through the air. Sam clenched her teeth. Yep that was the last straw. Luckily for Fiona, Scourge jumped in. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Chicas, calm down. We can get along, no need for clenched faces an' all that." Scourge extended both his arms, hooking it instantly in the holes of the fox's and hedgehog's arms. "Let's just go in, have fun an' not get in a fight. Okay?" The girls reluctantly nodded and allowed themselves to be pulled by Scourge into the crowd._

_Sam was then whirled into the loud music, rough faces of the teens appeared- or rather their backsides. The young people had to avoid getting hit by the rear ends as the teenagers paid them no attention. Finally they were at the center of the building, the dance floor. Squares of yellow, blue and white sprinkled all over the dance floor. Scourge and his friends started dancing._

_Once the gang's attention was off Sam, she started to look for a way out. Sam squeezed past the sea of dancing bodies, feeling quite dizzy from the lack of real fresh air. She felt like a bouncy ball in a pinball machine, colliding into one body only to end up colliding with another. This went on and on for quite some time._

_Eventually Sam shapeshifted into a marble and rolled her way underneath the feet of the crazy partiers. She rolled and rolled only to be scooped up in the hands of a meaty hand. Holding her was a big light gray bulldog, eyeing her with interest._

_"Finally!" he exclaimed. "It's about time I got mah hands on dis thing." He then placed Sam into his pocket, darkness consuming Sam the marble whole._

GRGRGRGR

_Light- real light thank God- entered Sam's vision and blinded her temporarily. Blinking a few times to clear her sight the first thing she noticed was fine red carpet. Like the sort of carpet that would cost as much as an indoor swimming pool. Then the purple marble noticed rows of purple vases lined up in a straight line. Striped chairs sat in adjacent corners of the room with a fat dog plopped in each one._

_Each dog wore white coats, top white hats and lofty shoes. The dogs each had small rose pink flower placed neatly in the openings of their top pockets. The flowers drooped as though warning about the dogs' attitudes toward plants. Their large snouts sharply pointed into the air and stood so still Sam thought they were expensive statues for show. None of them breathed for a moment until the dumb dog-Sam's kidnapper- spoke. "Hiya guys," he playfully greeted._

_The two snobby dogs- one gray and one black- titled their heads to the dog who spoke and only nodded. "Ah, Rufus. You're here," the gray dog sighed. Surprisingly his speech was not what Sam thought it would be. It sounded rough, like chalks scrapping the sidewalk carelessly._

_"So much for the peace and quiet night you promised," the black dog agreed. His voice was rough like the gray dog but a different sort of rough; his accent sounded like a churning trash truck crushing garbage in its' path. He picked himself off the chair. "What did you bring back this time Rufus?"_

_Rufus grinned playfully. "Oh you're not gonna believe it oh no you're not!" His meaty hand digs for Sam the purple marble only for the marble to increase in size, growing until the marble became a dark brown puppy, no bigger than a saucer of milk. Rufus jumps back in surprise. The dogs though remain calm._

"Arf arf!"_ barked the little puppy. The puppy made her way over to the other dogs and laid on her back her tummy showing. This invited the black dog to scratch her belly quite affectionately. No denying it felt good being petted there._

_Just then a harsh SLAP! Met the air, a wincing of pain as the patting stopped. It didn't take a genius to know that it was the gray dog who slapped the black dog's hand. "Don't you dare touch that thing, Lucifer," the gray dog scolded. "You don't know where it's been!"_

_"But Aidan, it's so cute," Lucifer protests. He turns to Sam's kidnapper Rufus. "Where'd you find dis thing anyhow?"_

_Rufus didn't hear however because he was too busy pouncing from point A to point B, attempting to play with the dog. Sam yelped and jumped to the ceiling, lounging in the chandelier. She watched from below as the dogs gathered with one another._

_"Come down here this instant you whimpering thing!" Aidan commanded._

_"What he said," Lucifer added._

_"Shut up Lucifer."_

_"Sorry."_

_Sam did not come down. She did not listen to the dogs. All she did was shapeshift into a wolf, leaping the air in a single bound before the chandelier had a chance to fall. The chandelier smashed to the ground, bits and pieces of glass flying everywhere. The dogs including Rufus jumped back. Sam the wolf sprang from corner to corner, sufficiently landing and crushing the vases._

_"Nooooo!" Aiden whined. "Those vases were _very_ expensive!"_

_"We need to do sumting 'bout that wolf!" declared the black dog. Sam smiled secretly at their reactions; it felt good seeing the dogs scared to the bone in their own quarters- or wherever they are. Time to put on a show._

_Sam swiped her large claws at the dogs, tearing their clothes to shreds. The two dogs gasped and struggled out of her grasp. Once Sam finished, she wreaked havoc all throughout room, clawing the furniture until you couldn't tell what it was any more, shoving the stands with the large vases over, and howling all the way._

_Rufus applauded…for some reason. The wolf glanced at the not so bright dog then took a bow. Aiden and Lucifer saw their chance and started beating the wolf with their long exaggerated canes. The wolf fell over, howling in pain this time. Gotta shapeshift into something…effective Sam thought and started changing shape. Before the hedgehog knew it, she transformed into-What the heck?!_

_Sam noticed Sergeant Simon charging straight to the dogs, grabbing the two beating dogs with one hand. He threw the dogs into a wall, having knocked them unconscious. Sam felt herself lifted up over the large gorilla's shoulder and noticed how badly she was hurt. Her body strung and screamed in a stinging sensation of pain. She hissed at the feeling._

_"Calm down," Sergeant Simon commands coolly. "I will tend to your wounds."_

_"How…" Sam started. She howled in pain then tried again. "How did you find me?"_

_Sergeant Simon laid Sam on the area of the ground where there was no broken glass and fished in his pocket for something. He never took his eyes off her, like he was reading her…intently. "I heard a noise coming from the office. I decided to investigate." The gorilla found his medical supply kit and opened it. He proceeded to apply a cool green gel to Sam's arms. "That answers the boss's question on your whereabouts."_

_"Who's the boss?" Sam asked._

_"The green hedgehog." The gorilla said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world._

_And as though on cue, Scourge entered the room, his eyes widened in shock. "Sammy! What happened ta ya?" He waited for Sam's response._

_Sam lifted her head to meet the hedgehog's sky blue eyes. "I'm okay." Though she didn't sound okay; she sounded tired, even to herself._

_Scourge said nothing and helped lift Sam off the floor. He mumbled inaudibly as Sam was slung on his shoulder. Sam could not decide what to do next so she remained quiet. Sergeant Simon opened the door for the hedgehog, earning a nod. Scourge gave a shrill whistle enough to turn some heads. Sam managed to get a look at the party scene; there was almost no difference in the scene though there was a little bit of room for dancing and that was occupied by Flying Frog and Predator Hawk who looked like he was enjoying himself._

_The two stopped and were over by Scourge's side in no time. Both looked concerned. Shortly after that Lightening Lynx appeared. The purple hedgehog could have sworn she saw a glimpse of red fur- Fiona! She's here too!_

_After that it was a blur. Scourge started barking orders to his friends, the pounding of feet, the annoying rave music…Sam's eyes fluttered close and nodded her head. And let's just say that sleep got a huge bear hug from Sam that night._

Next Morning

_The air felt good on Sam the bird's face as she soared through the air to school. How she enjoyed the flight she took! How you can fly as high as you want with no limits but the sky. How cool the ever-rapid wind brushed her face. Really Sam loved everything about flying. It was a lot like swimming in the ocean only you don't need gills. Just wings._

_Another reason Sam like flying is that it gave her plenty of time to think about her troubles. If she felt like thinking about them. And boy did Sam have a lot to think about; it was difficult to get last night's events out of her mind. Certain parts of the event- shapeshifting into a wolf, clawing the two dogs, the music, the clothes-repeated in her mind again and again. Quite a wonder she woke in her own bed at her house._

_The shapeshifting hedgehog decided that since she could think of no explanation for what happened that she'll ask Scourge about all of this when she got here,. If she can find him that is. Sam arrived at the large doors of the school, no one coming in or going out. She arrived at school much earlier than she normally would; so early no student was here yet. The hedgehog plopped herself on the steps leading to the door. She got out a book to read and waited._

_"Sammy?" a familiar deep silk voice sounded. Sam jumped several feet in the air, the book sliding out her hands and would have landed on the ground if Scourge had not caught it with one hand._

_"Don't scare me like that!" Sam exclaimed as soon as she landed clumsily on the ground._

_Scourge handed her the book. "That's how ya thank someone who saved your life?"_

_"You didn't save my life," Sam says. "You just came right in an' carried me away."_

_"Annnnd put you back in your bed where you belong," Scourge revealed._

_Sam stared. "How do you know where I live, Stalker?"_

_The green hedgehog snorted. "Not obvious? I live in the same place you do, just a little ways from your house."_

_"Oh." That made sense. At least Scourge wasn't stalking her. Much. She opened her mouth to say something when Scourge cut her off._

_"I know you're wondering what happened last night so I'll make this short, sweet, an' to the point ok? Okay. So after ya disappeared or whatever, I searched the club for you. Sergeant Simon helped since he's y'know, loyal to da bone."_

_"He's the gorilla right?" Sam asks._

_"Yea," Scourge nods. "Anyway he heard a noise comin' from the suite of the club so he went in first ta see what there is to see. When he didn't answer for a while, I went right on in an' boom, found you."_

_"But what happened after that?" Sam wanted to know._

_"After that?" Scourge thought for a moment. Then he answered. "After that, the team noticed me with you on my shoulder so they asked what's up an' I said 'We gotta get ol'Sammy outta here she's badly hurt.' An' they said, 'okay what should we do?' That's when I got a plan in my head; I divided the team in two groups: Team one helped you to your house and made sure you're okay. I lead Team one."_

_"You did?" Sam searched Scourge's face to detect a lie. The green hedgehog seemed very sincere in his words and expression. Despite having the appearance of someone untrustworthy Sam believed him. Trusted him. Like he was the sort of hedgehog you could count on. If what he's saying is true, then Sam definitely owes him._

_Still though Sam needs to be sure that her suspicions are not going awry. "So you guys actually helped me?"_

_"Why wouldn't we?" Scourge asks. "I was the one who invited ya an' everyone knows that guests deserve pretty good treatment. We couldn't just leave ya there. We all did that stuff 'cause we care for you. Me being the most." Scourge held Sam's hand in his, looking her directly in her eyes._

_Sam, for a moment was enraptured in his eyes then gained her composure as she wretched her hand free from his. It wasn't that she hated it; it made her uncomfortable. And also her palm was sweaty. It took a moment for her brain to get back on track, but when it did Sam asked one more question. "You said you divided the team in two groups right?"_

_Scourge nodded, seeming a bit of guard that the few seconds broke._

_"So what did team two do?"_

_Scourge grinned though the thought of what team two done is the most amusing thing in the world. "We couldn't exactly forgive the club people what they've done an' we've been getting crappy service from them lately. An' with what happened to you and all, we couldn't exactly let it go. So a punishment is an order."_

_"And what was the punishment?"_

_"After everyone in the club left, Team Two broke everything the club had an' bolted."_

FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA

_From that moment forward, Scourge treated Sam with the utmost respect; he carried her books for her, gave her brownies from the school cafeteria ("No no no they weren't stolen promise," Scourge assured her), and sat with Sam instead of his usual crew. The green hedgehog treated Sam like she is a queen. As much as Sam liked that she preferred to have a friend rather than a servant. Sam told Scourge this and became surprised when Scourge didn't leave after she said it like her friends did._

_Instead Scourge asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend. The purple hedgehog fainted right there and had to be sent to the nurse's office. Three days later of avoiding Scourge due to deep thinking later, Sam accepted and they were happy since._

_Until one day Scourge made a fatal mistake. It all happened one day when Sam and Scourge decided to go out to the Steakhouse (Scourge's favorite place). Scourge even made some renovations for the both of them. Everything was great; the two of them were happy and real happy when a tall female skunk walked right up their table a scowl frozen on her face._

_"Scourge! You better have some good explanation for this!" her footsteps echoing her anger. Sam was confused but Scourge nearly fell over his chair. The skunk arrived to their table, smoke steaming from her ears (figuratively)._

_"Scourge…" Sam said once she found her voice. "Who is she?"_

_The green hedgehog climbed back up in his seat, flopping in his chair. He glanced at the skunk then at Sam. "I don't know her. Never seen 'er before in my life!"_

_"'Never seen me before!'" The rage from the angry skunk was for all to hear as heads turned to the source of the noise. "Admit it you dirtbag you've been cheating on me just like you do with all the other girls."_

_Sam gasped; at least she swore she had but she heard nothing. Confusion with a hint of anger seethed inside her. How dare that skunk talk to her boyfriend like that! "If you're gonna make accusations of my boyfriend, then you need to go."_

_"And who's gonna make me huh?" the skunk girl challenged. Sam opened her mouth to deliver a threat when a whistle sounded. The tension between the girls was temporarily forgotten as they looked over to the source of the noise: Scourge, with the door wide open. Right away the girls followed him out of the restaurant. And the Steakhouse became as nosier as ever._

GRGRGRGR

_Predictably the girls crossed their arms awaiting Scourge's explanation. Scourge took a deep breath and spoke. "Sammy she wasn't lying. I am her boyfriend."_

_"Was is more like it," the skunk mumbles._

_"For how long?" Sam immediately followed with another question._

_"While you and I were…y'know."_

_Sam stared at Scourge, hurt building in her eyes. "…Wh…what?"_

_"What does that matter?" Scourge replies rather carelessly. "Long as both girlfriends are happy everybody's happy."_

_"You…you cheated on me!" Sam yells._

_"And me," the skunk girl adds. "This whole thing stinks worse than I do- pun intended."_

_The girls advanced menacingly toward the sorry green hedgehog. Scourge took several steps back, worry pasted on his face. Then a pause as the friends dared one another to make a move. Eyes locked, teeth baring no backing out for Scourge. Unless…_

_ZAP! Scourge jumped in the air, a large ring appearing right where he was and as Scourge plants his feet on the ground, the ring swallows him, disappearing along with the large ring. The girls stared at the spot Scourge was and tried their best to comprehend what just happened; it all happened so quickly._

_"What…?" the skunk began._

_"was that," Sam finished for her._

_They both looked at one another and shrugged. "I really wanted to punch his face." Sam said._

_"What a jerk," Skunk agreed. "Well, at least he's outta our hair now."_

_Sam shook her head. "I don't think so." Pause. "But next time I see him I'll shapeshift into a wolf and tear him up."_

_The skunk girl frowned. "You can shapeshift?" Sam nodded. "Wow you…never hear a lot about shapeshifters nowadays."_

_Silence. "Sam." The hedgehog extended her hand to meet the skunk's._

_"Ala," the skunk girl accepted the gesture and gave a firm handshake. Ala released Sam's hand and suddenly found the ground interesting. "I…have to go."_

_Sam nods in understanding. "You'll find someone better."_

_"So will you." And Ala strolled out of sight. Sam instantly thought of Sonic, her best friend who she hasn't seen in years. If only Ala's statement could come true right here right now. Sam sighed then smiled as she pondered on the memories she has of Sonic, his kind smile and bright green eyes. It is enough to give Sam the hope she needs to keep going. She'll see Sonic again. Someday._

Sam closed her eyes not to prevent tears but to attempt to shut the memory from her mind, put it in an inescapable place where she can never look at it again. When that didn't help, Sam picked up the figure of her ex and chucked it over the side. A grin worked its' way onto her face. Then she heard the sound of someone calling her name. She looked down over at the balcony to notice her good friend Sonic. He was waving and smiling at her, next thing either hedgehogs knew Sonic was running, the dust flying and disappearing almost as quickly. Sam frowned but saw the reason Sonic was running.

Huge hammer in the air, long boots pounding the earth is Amy herself. Amy ran in the direction her blue 'boyfriend' went and set off in his trail. "Someday Sonic you will be mine!" She howled in the air.

"Someday Sonic you will not be hers," Sam said as soon as Amy was gone. "Til then...love you."


	15. Like Mother Like Son

_Welcome to the finale of the Sega Saga Book 1. I thought we end this book with the ever popular Chaotix Detective Agency and Sam and Flower. Don't worry there will be a Book 2. Soon_

_Special thank to Plastic Raven for beta reading this piece. I recommend checking out Plastic Raven's _Don't Keep Your Distance._ It is very well written along with a good plot. It follows the after events of Sonic X with the viewpoint of Paint, Tails' and Cosmos's child along with her friends. _

It was a day like any other at the Chaotix Detective Agency. Sam and Flower were laughing and joking with the three detectives, stuffing their mouths with sweet pastries that Vanilla and Cream had made. Everyone's lips were overflowing with messy dollops of frosting – not least of all Espio, who hadn't been able to stop since Cream delivered the treats to them. And boy, were they ever something to love: buns made of pure sweetness, topped with creamy chocolate and sauce that could addict the sourest skeptic.

Flower, the retiring little black fox, leaned back in her chair, clutched her stomach, and inhaled deeply for the needed energy to speak up. "I… I just can't eat anymore," she said. "All… those… pastries…"

She wouldn't be winning sympathy here. "Big news," Vector exclaimed, "that means more for me!" He scooped the remaining pastries from Flower's plate, using his arm as a trusty broom to sweep them into his mouth.

Charmy took a few more, pulling one pastry at a time into his mouth in a strained competition with the croc. "Gotta-beat-Vector!" he shouted through the mouthfuls. His disadvantage through having a smaller mouth was compensated for by his winged body: he could use both feet to grab more pastries, not needing them to remain seated.

Samantha, Flower's best friend and self-proclaimed older sister and an energetic, personable purple hedgehog known better as "Sam", had no reservations about picking sides. "No way that's gonna happen," Sam asserted with a mouth full of peanut butter chip cookies. "Vector's mouth is bigger than yours."

Vector nodded like a crazed bobble-head and kept eating, crumbs shooting every which way like fireworks, and just as festive in spirit. Espio scooted his chair away from Vector and frowned at him. "Vector," he said tiredly, "we just cleaned this place."

"I'll clean it later, Es," Vector replied curtly, clearly not focused on the request.

"Have you no understanding of manners, Vector? At least clean up your act for the women in the room." Espio pointed to Sam and Flower, but his point was ruined by their table manners being just as repulsive as his, and their appetites just as voracious.

"Aw, c'mon, Es!" Charmy pouted. "Wanna join in the competition? I- I bet you could even turn invisible and sneak out to the toilet, so you can throw up and eat more!"

"I'd rather not," Espio replied squarely. "I have eaten enough for three days, thank you very much, and I am not keen on wasting food."

Charmy shrugged and resumed his consumption competition. He wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, though: a knock arrived at the door. Vector frowned in annoyance, with the muscle movement dislodging hundreds of helpless crumbs and frosting droplets. "Who could that be?" he moaned.

"I got it, I got it," Flower announced, jumping to the door. There in the doorway stood a mysterious figure in a sweeping cloak, colored the dark purple of an eerie rural night sky. The figure appeared to be female, but Flower could not make out any further details – no age; no species; no color of fur, scales, or unadorned skin. "Uh… can I help you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes," the woman replied coolly. "I would like to speak with Espio the Chameleon. I do believe this is the correct address."

Flower nodded, widening the doorway so that she could enter. The woman unsettled her, and she was glad to dump her on the chameleon's hands instead of having to converse herself any longer. As the woman entered, the bottom of her cloak grazed the ground just enough to obscure her bare feet or shoes, whichever lay underneath.

When she entered, Flower hurried back to her seat and buried her gaze in another pastry. Her presence had a similar effect on the others in the room: everyone looked quite discomfited. Vector froze halfway through a bite of a cookie, the remainder of which he placed on his plate as he slowly swallowed and spoke up to her. "Hello ma'am," he said slowly, "welcome to the Chaotix Detective Agency. How can we help you today?"

"First," she commanded softly, "we shall find a more" – she took a quick glance from the messy scene and motioned to another room – "sanitary scene. As I have said, I must speak with Espio the Chameleon, if he is not otherwise occupied."

No one felt fit to argue as they stood up, gave their faces a quick wipe with nearby napkins, and followed her to her parlor of choice. She picked out a green chair to sit in, standing patiently behind it in a tacit request of permission. Vector waved that it was okay, and everyone else picked another seat in the room. She lowered herself to a seating position slowly, placing her hands neatly on her lap as she shifted around to get comfortable. Once satisfied, she angled her face toward Espio, although no one else could see her face. When Espio caught his first glimpse, he froze and his body locked up.

"My name is Chie," the woman explained, "and I am Espio's master."

While everyone else nodded slowly and unsurely, Espio's eyes widened to cartoonish proportions. The woman didn't miss that detail, and calmly insisted, "I know you have not forgotten me."

Espio attempted to say something, but it all came out in asemic sputters and gasps, drawing all the room's attention like a reluctant black hole. "Es?" Vector asked nervously.

"You okay?" Charmy chirped, trying to help out.

"Y-you're freaking us out here, Espio," muttered Sam. Flower silently scooted her chair closer to the hedgehog, almost as if seeking protection.

At once, the woman removed the hood of her cloak and her face was visible to all. She was a chameleon, too, but with a few decades of age on her. She had golden horns forming a ridge that would impress a stegosaurus, running from just above her nose to the upper back of her head. Her eyes were of a greyed-out, unsaturated shade of blue, like a storm inching into a harbor to cause some destruction. It looked for a second as though some lustrous jewelry had appeared on her, but it turned out just to be a light somewhere under her cloak. While "mystery" would be a generally acceptable first choice of descriptor for her, she was also undeniably beautiful.

The room focused in wonder at her. An idea wormed into Sam's head, and she nervously began to ask, "A-are you…?"

"Yes." The woman had beaten her to it. "I am related to Espio. I am… his mother." At these few simple words, Espio stopped sputtering, stopped breathing, and urged himself not to faint. It did not succeed.

_00000_

Espio cracked his eyes open in confusion as he came to. His coworkers, his two newer friends, and his mother were all crowding around him, examining him to see if anything was wrong. When his eyes opened and he sat up, with his hand reflexively flying to his forehead, they all sighed in relief. Vector helped him up slowly. "Easy, Es. You feelin' alright?"

He felt nauseated, but well enough to compose himself to speak. "I… I am fine."

He noticed a strange feeling on his tail, and when he looked, Charmy was studying it with a strange curiosity. "Yo, Es, has your tail always been this coiled? A-and this purple? You could be coming down with something!"

"Glad to see you are still alright," Espio groaned as he looked expectantly at the others.

"You don't sound aright," Sam commented, prodding at his side and looking unimpressed with the normal, fleshy feeling. She frowned and admitted, "Nothing's broken."

"He was only shocked," Chie reassured them. "I haven't seen the boy in… in over three years, if I'm not mistaken."

"Wow," Vector gasped, surprised enough to drop the poor squamate on his back once more. Luckily, Espio was awake enough to plant his hands and feet on the floor to protect himself, and he nonchalantly nodded to Vector that he was in fine form. Vector went on, still in shock. "Three years since ya last saw your own mama!? I can't imagine going anywhere near that long! We crocs keep close, ya see – my mom insists on inspecting my teeth every time we meet, and I still love her even after that time I had popcorn at the movies before seeing her!"

"My home was under attack three years ago," Espio continued. "My mother sent me here with the power of the Black Chaos Emerald."

"The Black Chaos Emerald?" Flower inquired. "I thought there were only seven, and wouldn't being black kinda defeat the purpose of glowing?"

"Does it have spooky black raincloud powers?" Charmy asked, also curious. "O-or can it automatically force your enemies to wear REALLY ugly black dresses?"

"I suppose," Chie explains, "but it's a bit more extensive than that. The Black Chaos Emerald can grant the user any power that he or she wishes. The user can, for example, turn into a 'super' form and travel throughout all of the dimensions known to Mobian-kind, and several besides."

"Anywhere?" Sam asked skeptically. Flower, awe-struck, could only gape silently and wait for confirmation.

"Anywhere at all," Chie whispered.

"Whoa!" Vector exclaimed with surprise that would have weakened his grip on Espio again if he had been holding him. "A black Chaos Emerald? With unlimited power? Nif-ty! Boy, would Knuckles' stupid Master Emerald be jealous to hear that!"

"Uh-huh!" Charmy yipped. "It could… power-unlimited-ize circles around that dumb ol' thing!"

"It could easily ferry its bearer across the entire universe, in fact." Espio's mother elaborated.

"Really?" Charmy gasped. "REALLY big circles around it, then?"

"So it is believed. If that is so… it should not be tempered with." She turned now to her son, who seemed to be fascinated with the cracks in the floor of his office than with his own mother. "Espio."

The chameleon looked up, still in a bit of shock – and simply got up and left the room, no emotional display or coarse words emitted. The remaining heads in the room, save for his mother's, looked around in confusion. "What's going on here?" Vector demanded to know of her. "Where's our buddy Es goin'? You can stay and chat for as long as ya like, but he's still a Chaotix!"

Chie closed her eyes, intent on reaching some kind of personal peace. "I only came here to pick up my son. He will come home to our safe village with me. He has an hour to say good-bye to his friends." With mechanical motions of the arms and legs, she lowered herself to a seated position on the floor and meditated.

_000000_

Espio was folding all of his belongings quickly and neatly. Since he kept clean house and they consisted mostly of his ninja accessories, he was done before he knew it. As he finished off the packing with his katana and shurikens, someone knocked at his door. "Come in," he replied.

The originator of the sound showed herself, and he was surprised to see none other than Samantha the Hedgehog in the doorway, agitation on her face. The chameleon frowned and asked, "Can I help you?"

Sam cocked her head to one side and sighed in mock-innocence. "Oh, I dunno, maybe you can start with... explaining what the heck is going on here!"

"I am leaving." It was an obvious enough situation, and so that was how he would treat it.

"But why?!" she plead. She had a hard time accepting her friend ditching her just like that. As snide and unfriendly as he was, he cared about her and Flower and – more importantly – about his teammates enough that, if he couldn't fight his mother's demands, he would at least give them a warm, sorrowful, and proper good-bye… right?

"When I left my mother and my home those years ago," he responded, "my mother arranged that I would leave upon her arrival, no matter what kind of life I had built up by that point."

Sam furrowed her brow as she tried to pick some kind of emotion out of Espio's normal, solemn expression that, in this moment, was quite unwelcome. After a moment of silence, she challenged, "You don't want to leave."

"Is that a question or a statement?" he bit back. "I enjoy logical puzzles, but I do not like mind games."

"Both," Sam replied. "Listen, Espio," she sighed. "You're a more stoic guy that I am an empath, so I'll cave: I can't tell what you're thinking. But I do know how I would react if I were in your shoes. If some relative of mine… even as close to me as the woman who raised me, showed up one day and demanded I leave, I… I wouldn't just take it without fighting." She looked into his eyes, hoping to reach something sensitive inside his heart. "If I loved my friends like… like I know you do, I'd find some better way to work it out."

Espio turned his eyes away and set the clothes he was meticulously rearranging back on the bed, also pushing a few pairs of socks that had poked their way out of his stuffed suitcase. When he plopped his rear end on the bed, accepting her invite for a real conversation, he asked, "What would you have done, then?"

"Refuse on the spot!" Sam exclaimed with zero hesitation. "I mean, it makes no difference to me who it is, because no one can tell you what to do or how you should live your life, especially if the life you have now makes you happy." Espio lowered his head to shield his eyes from her pleading words, and her suspicion was confirmed. "Why aren't you saying anything to your mom?" she demanded.

"I have no say in the matter," he whispered. "I cannot stay here. My mother wants me to come home. Her demands are not to be refused." Repeating the same idea as if to convince himself more than anyone else, he abruptly and artificially got to his feet, starling the girl. "I have disobeyed her before. I cannot do so again. Believe me." And with that, he picked his suitcase up with both hands and was about to run out before she could accost him any further, when she gently grabbed his arm anyway.

"I just…" she sighed, thinking of how best to compose her words for one last chance of getting to him. "Please don't leave, Espio. You've worked so hard, and you continue to every day, at maintaining good relationships for us, providing for us, sticking up for your teammates. Vector and Charmy need you, and they wouldn't hesitate a second to show it. Flower and I love you, too, but if nothing else… please, for them, stay. I know it's difficult, but you can't keep bending to people's demands forever. If you spend your whole life blending in, you'll never learn to show your true colors."

"No, Sam," he coughed, and he swung his arm until she quite literally flew off it. He stood with his back to her, firmly shielding his eyes and his heart from her entreatments. "It does not matter what I want. My mother's wishes come first. That is how it is. All I have to do is go… and you will be fine without me." And that was that; out he went. That was it; Sam could only look down at herself in despair.

She noticed something, though. She hadn't yet begun to cry, but there was an unmistakable teardrop on her arm.

After an expected show of waterworks in the parlor, Charmy could only whimper as Espio firmly pushed him aside. Charmy was smaller than him, however, and Espio could not escape Vector's sudden and tearful embrace. His horn was poking firmly and painfully into the croc's chest, but Vector didn't care; he only cried harder when he finally had to let him go. Flower beckoned him down, where she was sitting, and lunged at him for a quick kiss on the cheek. She grinned at him warmly, with a thin streak of frosting matted into the fur near her mouth, and he couldn't help smiling back. Unsatisfied, though, Espio looked over to Sam, who hadn't said a word since he first abandoned her in his room.

She only looked forlornly up at him, still not speaking a word. He sighed and realized that it was his responsibility to make the final first move in the send-offs, so he grinned at her and awkwardly ran his hand through her hair. Anyone else in the world could have tousled it more naturally, but she smiled back at him for trying and hugged him. The gesture earned him an encouraging thumbs-up from Vector, and even Charmy – still crying his eyes out – managed to stick a thumb up in support as well.

Nodding at both of them, he turned to his mother. Suddenly, they both swooped out of the room through an open window and their footsteps were audible on top of the Agency. When everyone looked over to see where and how they had performed such a trick, they were gone. Everyone except Sam, of course – she sat back down and looked morose.

_00000_

"I don't get it," Vector asked the girl. "Why didn't ya say good-bye to Es?"

Sam sighed. "Espio is no leader."

"Well, duh!" Vector guffawed, wiping a few stubborn tears from his eyes. "That's why I'm the leader."

"No, no, I mean… he can't even lead his own life."

Vector's grim failure to respond discouraged her from continuing, but as she glanced over to Flower, she decided to continue. "When his mother came to pick him up," Sam explained to the little girl, "h-he just accepted it. That's it. No fights, no questions asked. He just got up and left."

"So?" Charmy asks. "I'm sad, too, but she's his mom and he had to do it."

"So?!" Sam yelled, blazing in anger. "What do you mean 'so'?! He's a grown man! Well- not legally, but more 'grown up' than any of us are! He should be able to stand up to some stupid old lady who hasn't bothered to contact her son in three years and still insists on controlling his life!"

"Well, uh…" Since he himself wasn't sure he could rationalize Espio's actions, but he was gone nonetheless, Vector tried to think of something comforting for the girl. "At least he'll be reunited with his family, and he'll have some time away from our stupid butts to learn some new ninja abilities or whatever and-"

"You're okay with it?" Sam snapped at him. Vector jumped back, but was hurt by the remark – and angered. What right did she, who wasn't even a founding member of the Chaotix as they were, have to attack his relations with the chameleon?

"Now look here, Sam!" he snarled. "We're just as bummed at losing Espio as you are, but that doesn't give you the right ta take yer anger out on us, even if ya have a thing fer 'im-"

"That's not it!" Sam shouted, bringing everyone else to stare at her sudden outburst. When she realized how noisy that had been, she took a deep breath. "I do not have a thing for Espio. That's not it. I just…"

"Then why do you care so much for him?" Flower inquired. Though it had been asked purely out of innocence, Sam found herself rather stumped.

Before she could connive some kind of stilted explanation for her partner, Espio's mother reappeared in the doorway… without her son. All four in the room besides her took defensive poses, baring their teeth or showing some equivalent measure of hostility. "Stay back, lady," Vector snarled, and then reached over to grab Charmy and point his stinger at the nonchalant woman. "I'm well-armed!"

Charmy, who didn't care, added, "You're not taking any more of our members away! You're gonna have to get through us first!"

"I am not here to take any of you away," Chie replied with an uncomfortable coolness. "I need your aid."

"In what?" Flower chided at the woman. "Brushing your horns?"

"Silence! This is no time for foolishness!" she seethed. The black fox was silenced by the forceful remark. Satisfied with having gathered everyone's attention, Chie sighed and continued. "I… I do not know how it happened, but Espio, my son… is gone. He has been kidnapped by a man named – and I trust this is a name you all will know – Doctor Robotnik."

Vector's mouth flew open. "WHAAAA?!" he shouted, before raising a finger to his mouth and correcting himself. "Wait a sec… why does that surprise me at all?"

"Me neither," Charmy chimed in. "I never understand what that guy's up to, but he finds some confusing reason to kidnap our buddies every time!"

"He's a loser that's why," Sam muttered. "Still though I don't get it."

Flower, however, wasn't content to just leave them. "We need to get up there and stop him!" she protested, pointing up to it.

Chie nodded stiffly, straining to remain calm. "She is right. Perhaps my son can fight him off, but perhaps…"

"Whoa, whoa, let's be rational here." Vector waved the group to silence. "We've got to be stealthy about it, so we can't just all barge in up there at once. We'll need one person who can fly…" His eyes darted instinctively to Charmy, and then to Flower, but another solution seemed more interesting. "But Sam… you can shapeshift, right? Would your range of forms happen to include flying ones?"

"Shapeshifting?" Chie scoffed at the unusual assertion. "Are you sure?"

Rather than argue, however, Sam simply demonstrated her skill: first her limbs, then her entire body, including her now giant face, deformed to take on the shape of a small airplane. It wouldn't hold an entire crew, but one fox, one crocodile, one bee, and one chameleon would not be out of the question. There was only one problem: there was no internal seating area, only a few seats on top of her, with no seat belts.

"H-how are we riding you?" Vector stammered. "I- I know! These three can stay right on top… and I can climb into your mouth! There's room! If I can handle the steamy swamp waters when I'm visiting my family, that shouldn't be too gross!"

"C'mon, Vector," Charmy pouted, "don't be such a scaredy-cat! Flower and I can hold you!"

"Uh… this is the 'will' can, n-not the 'Can I go to the bathroom? I don't know, can you?' can, right, guys?"

_00000_

_Craaaaaaaaasssshhhhh!_

Vector tumbled to the ground, rolling over himself a few times against the rough surface. "Hey," he snarled at his two airborne guardians, also descending to his level, "why didn't ya hold onto me?"

"Because you were sweating so hard, they couldn't," Sam countered, quickly reverting to her animal form. "…Or maybe that was Flower," she amended. "She gets that way in high-speed chases."

"So much for stealth," Vector moaned.

Chie, like her son, was a forward-thinker. Her descent to the ground was the most graceful and the fastest, readying her for action. "If you are all ready to put a stop to your bickering, we are up here and for a good reason." She set one leg out in front of her to begin a determined march, but immediately thought better of it and switched to a sneak. "I know we are potentially fully visible," she whispered, "but silence is of the essence here. We must make minimum noise if we wish to-"

"Uh, guys?" Charmy spoke up, very much out loud.

"Shhhhh!" Chie began to hiss, before looking around and seeing just how futile her proclamation had been: a number of Eggman robots had dropped down and surrounded them. Their guns were pointed right at the chameleon's hopeful rescuers, leaving them no choice but to shoot their own hands up to the sky and surrender – for now.

"Aaaaaggghh," Vector moaned. "H-How'd ya even hear us? We were stealthy! It was such a sweat-inducingly dramatic chase scene!"

_"A noise consistent with those of invading vehicles was detected in Quadrant Four of the Egg Carrier," _one of them mentioned.

"But we're in...?"

_"Quadrant Three and Four-Quarters."_

Vector frowned. "What the- what kind of numbering scheme is that? His architect must've had a really late night or something."

_"Perhaps. But it was not 'lights out' for the architect forever, because he followed orders."_ The robots beckoned the group to their feet, rewarding them with icy prods to the back with their laser guns. _"Move."_

"Just so ya know, Sam," Vector informed the hedgehog as they were slowly led away, "I blame you for our situation right now."

"'S your fault for being such a weenie about flying," she teased in a careful whisper. "But that's okay – this is just as I planned. It should lead us right to Esp-" – she noticed one of the robots giving her a suspicious glare – "…t-to especially evil and ingeniously designed torture dungeons! What else could we expect from, uh, the fabulous Dr. Eggman!"

Relieved, the robot continued on its merry way, but Flower was unable to leave it alone. "I'm confused," she commented. "Why would you think Eggman is fabul- oww!" Sam elbowing her in the hip was all the signal she needed that they just might be onto something.

_00000_

After a maze of corridors and a condescendingly scrutinized journey fit only for lab rats, the group finally completed its guided tour to the Egg Carrier's innermost chamber. Sure enough, as the robots' leader cracked the door open, Eggman himself came into view, but the situation became stranger as his activity was revealed: he was absorbed in an amiable conversation with – in a cage, like a (less dignified) animal – none other than Espio the Chameleon. It was a large room, if not more of a warehouse, decorated about as tastefully as the private lair of a mad scientist could be, with odd robot parts strewn about and maps of important locations spread out on the walls. The doctor himself, and his unwilling conversational partner, were positioned atop a catwalk a few stories above the entrance.

"And then she said-" Eggman chortled, the palm of his hand absentmindedly pressed against his own face in devotion to the quaint little conversation – until he noticed his visitors.

"Ah, yes!" he spoke to them, "I was alerted about you all! I must say, I'm rather used to having my property invaded by stupid little hedgehogs and foxes, but normally they're athletically proficient enough to knock out at least a few of my robots… and their fur is somehow less grating to the eyes! They'll be proud to know they have a fan club – or they had one, do you know what I am saying?"

Chie glid to the front of the group and hissed at the man, "Your repugnant tone of voice notwithstanding, I am Espio's mother and I demand you let him go."

"And us, if ya don't mind…" Vector added. "Hey, he may be your biological son, but aren't we pretty close? Whatever happened to 'the blood of the covenant is thicker th-'"

"Do not push me," she spat back at him, though ultimately uninterested in anything but the task at hand. "Now then, we chameleons do not like taking no for an answer, nor do we like waiting."

"Well, I like giving no for an answer _and_ making people wait!" Eggman chuckled. "And in the particular, why would I let him go?"

He stood up, walking on the balcony constructed above the friends, and casually pressed a button on a miniature control panel he was carrying with him to quickly seal the door, after which the robots retrained their guns on the group. "Actually, let me expand that. Why would I let _any_ of my prisoners go?"

He laughed once more. "I'm a busy man, reptile. I kidnap with a cause. However, I am also a flexible man, and my causes vary a great deal. Sometimes, like a spider, I capture by opportunity – like I have you all! – and sometimes" – he motioned to Espio's cage – "I do it when I… want something from them."

"Uh, who are you talking about? No one's there," Flower blurted out.

"Well, excuse me, but I can hardly see you, either, girl. How did your parents bathe you without mistaking you for a stray clod of black dirt and flushing you down the drain? Not that I can't make up for lost time now- ahhhh!"

A casual glance at Espio's cage, just a little too late, revealed to the doctor that his captive was gone.

He shook his head in disbelief before springing into action. "NO! This is impossible!" He glared at a subgroup of his robots and rasped down to them, "Find him! Don't let him get away! Everyone else, stay right here!" A few obedient yes-sirs later, the first group was off, and the reminding robots stayed put. With a search party for Espio out the door, Eggman and his other robots were free to do with their captives as they pleased, and he grinned malevolently to confirm this.

"Ahhh, darn it, Espio!" Vector moaned. "Why'd ya have to do the thing you're best at?"

"Thisisbadthisisbadthisisbaaaaaaad!" Charmy cried, rocking back and forth on the ground.

"I'm so sorry," Flower sobbed into Sam's shoulder. "I- I should've just shut up, a-and-"

"It's okay," Sam tried to soothe as she hugged the younger girl tightly, "we'll be alright. We'll just… ah…" The hedgehog noticed then that Chie was eerily calm amidst the clamor. "Chie, uh… know something the rest of us don't?" she quietly asked. "'Cause that would really be helpful right about now."

The woman smiled warmly. "My son… is nearby."

And she meant it. Sam grinned and wiped a tear from Flower's eye. "Ready to do this?" she asked softly.

"You betcha!" Flower yipped. She jumped up to a vantage point near a cluster of the remaining robots and gave them a hard roundhouse slap with her two tails. Caught off guard, they tumbled back, although they were angry. Nonetheless, the animals were able to overpower them fairly easily – the doctor had evidently not brought in his state-of-the-art line of machines for petty invaders such as these.

Before long, Eggman pounded frantically on a different button – "Reinforcements, come on! This is not a drill!" he shrieked. Suddenly, the control panel flew out of his hands. The group gasped in confusion, and then Eggman was kicked back by an unseen force. His eyes darted around frantically, looking for some sort of rational explanation beyond karmic spirit retribution, but at once he was kicked all the way down to the metal floor. Rubbing his back with pain as a couple of his robots quickly moved to help him up, he stole a glance from behind him to view his attacker, a figure that slowly revealed itself like a blanket unraveling itself. Eventually the process finished, and the attacker revealed itself to be-

"Espio!" cheered his friends. Vector let his elation to see his best friend and teammate go on a little too long, as his distraction allowed three robots to gang up on him, but a few powerful kicks reminded them who was boss.

Espio smiled with all his heart at them, but the celebration wouldn't last long – in a split second, he was shoved roughly to the ground by a large metallic claw that pinned both him and Eggman into place.

Eggman laughed triumphantly. "Hohoho! Good thing I come prepared!"

"You have," Espio replied, "but you are also trapped."

"Uh… exactly as planned, haha!" Eggman replied, desperate to reclaim some sort of high ground. He grumbled something about a "stupid machine", but grinned as he realized the controller was still in his hands. He was about to press another, more dangerous-looking button – until the whole thing was swiped from his hands by another unseen aggressor. "AAAAARGH! NO!" he growled.

The controller levitated to a sensible waist-height until its bearer also removed its cloak, revealing itself to be Chie. The group was happy to see her safe as well, but still couldn't be too enthusiastic, as they were still in the process of professional robot butt-kicking. Between Vector's roundhouse kicks, Charmy's formidable stinger and agile air tricks, Flower's tail strikes to propel the robots into one another, and Sam's transformations into numerous distracting objects and then back into herself to catch them off-guard, the fighting was going well.

Still, after examining the controller for a short time, Espio's mother pressed a button that raised the claw a little so that Espio could slither out, but Eggman remained trapped under it. Eggman growled at his misfortune, and another button press instantly powered off the other robots.

"Yeeeeeahhhhh!" Charmy shrieked. "Nice job, Chie!" He attempted to hug her, but – not much of a physical-affection type anyway – she swooped over to be with her son instead, leaving Charmy to settle for a half-hearted high-five with Vector.

With no button presses, the door began to open – it was being opened from outside. Two of Eggman's most omnipresent henchmen, Decoe and Bocoe, came running in, eyes widening at the sight of their master so horribly incapacitated. "What happened here, Doctor?" Decoe asked. "Do you need a hand?"

"I could've sworn I programmed better joking skills into you than that," Eggman grumbled. "Now help me up!"

"But, Doctor…"

"You may help your master up when we have safely escaped," Chie commanded them. "Now you had better get to work, because the Doctor has got a lot of patients in need."

None of the animals in the room was a cricket, but the effect was the same. After a few seconds, Sam groaned out loud. "Ugh. Really?"

"I cannot be funny?" the woman asked, disappointed at her cold reception.

"Nah, old ladies shouldn't bother," Sam snickered.

"Oh, now you have done it," said Espio as his mother's eyes flared up.

_00000_

When the escape pod the group had swiped from the Egg Carrier settled down in the street in front of the Agency, the group tumbled out and collectively sighed with relief. "You all put up an exceptionally good fight," Chie congratulated them all. "Including you!" she said to Sam, who was still nursing her new black eye.

"Including me?" Charmy asked, hovering around her for extra attention. "Did I sting-k, or what? Uh… oh, wait, that's a bad thing."

"I am indeed proud of you," Chie confirmed, "but the bulk of my pride goes to my very own son."

Espio bowed to her. "Thank you, Mother," he replied, his head still lowered in submission. "You can take me home. I will not resist."

"I do not believe that is necessary."

"Huh?" The friends gasped.

Chie cleared her throat. "Your work back there was truly masterful in craft, and showed a pureness of spirit I am delighted to see inside you. If your father were here..."

The grin was spreading like a forest fire across his face, but he made every effort to cull it back, both for his own stoic dignity and in hopes of seeking further reward: he hoped this meant what he thought it did. "Thank you again, Mother. And I do have one more request..." he tried again. "I think it would honor my father the most for me to stay here, looking after and forming unbreakable bonds with my friends. I only ask… for your blessing, Mother."

Chie gave a single nod and, unable to contain his powerful emotions any longer, Espio sprang in the air, giving his mother a big hug after doing so. "Thank you very much, Mother."

"Ay Es," Vector butts in. "I hate ta interrupt the touching moment but what did Ol' Doc want with ya anyhow?"

"Yes my son what did the doctor want from you?" Chie joins in also curious.

"He wished to know the location of the Black Chaos Emerald," Espio informs him. "Apparently he has heard of this strange emerald and how the only creatures to use it are the chameleons."

"Our tribe," Chie adds.

"Yes our tribe," Espio acknowledges.

"But why you specifically?" Sam asks.

"I am not quite sure. But the Doctor seems to be keen on obtaining anyone who may know and finding a way to harness its' powers for his own gain."

"That's bad!" Flower exclaims, hands flying to her mouth to cover a gasp.

Espio nods grimly and turned to his mother. "It may not be safe for you to depart Mother. He has a robot that can detect invisible opponents."

"I know," Chie replied. "I shut it off."

"Whhaa?!" Sam shouts. "When ya do that?"

"Shorty before confronting the Doctor," came her direct reply. "It was not hard to find either. Not only was it in the same room as we were in but the robot had a sign on its' chest."

The friends cackled for a good while. When they eventually ceased, Chie motioned for Espio to come a few feet from the others. He obliged.

She whispered something to him in the ninjas' secret language, and he replied in kind; they continued back and forth for a spell. Flower tried desperately to try to follow the conversation, briefly considering asking Sam to transform into some kind of dictionary, but she soon came to her senses and realized that the details were not meant for them – the aegis of forgiveness and love was all that mattered.

Mother and son returned to their circle in the group- and the original language, as though it was important that the others hear. "Espio, I trust you to make your own decisions. I can no longer comprehend all of your struggles – I am, however, still your mother. I need you to promise me, Espio, that you will remain safe yourself, and you will never" – she looked over to his group of friends – "leave any of your comrades behind."

He nodded. "I must ask, Mother: are you sure you want to return home right away? We can surely accommodate you for a few days right here."

"I cannot, my son. You can do just fine without your mother managing your every task, but the village cannot – they are not as competent as you, Espio. Besides," she grinned, "would you really want your own mother snooping around while you are socializing with your friends about, er, boy stuff?"

"I understand." Espio smiled, and hugged her once more. "I wish you a safe return, and I pray that this beautiful spring day treats your voyage well."

"H-hey, speaking of this day," Flower chirped, "I just remembered something. Today's Mother's Day!"

Vector's eyes widened. "Mu-mother's Day?! Ohhh I completely fergot. Mama's gonna kill me!"

Charmy nudged the large croc. "She's gonna getcha before Egghead does!"

Vector shrugs. "Only difference between 'em is she loves me!"

The group chuckled. "Very true," Sam nods.

"Ah, yes," Espio beamed. Before his mother could leave for real, he looked her straight in the eye to give her one last verbal token of protection. "Happy Mother's Day… Mom."

_That ladies and gentlemen was the last story of this book. But I will make a new one that will have some more. Cheer go on cheer. Hooray! Like that okay? You're not doing it. Why are you guys not cheering? Oh well moving on_

_ QTOS: What are your predictions of the next book regarding the prior events?_


End file.
